Lost & Found
by oikosyogurt
Summary: Living a life as a successful con artist, Elsa opens her door one day to discover a mysterious girl named Anna who turns out to be her long, lost sister she never knew she had. Suddenly burdened with the responsibilities of an older sibling, Elsa is faced with a moral and ethical dilemma consisted of many dimensions. (Elsanna, Modern AU).
1. Chapter 1 (Part 1)

Elsa's morning routine was always consistent, like a well-oiled machine. Her natural circadian rhythm would wake her up approximately ten minutes before the 6am alarm clock, and she would promptly shake off the warm comfort of her bed and rise to do her morning exercises - one hundred pull-ups, one hundred pushups, one hundred crunches, and one hundred burpees, along with a forty-five minute high intensity sprint workout, followed by a ten minute cool down.

Every day of her world was the same.

Constant.

Steady.

Unchanging.

Glistening with sweat, she would enter the bathroom and shower for about twenty minutes. She would scrub every crevice of her taut form, cleansing and rejuvenating her skin with tea tree body wash, and would wash her lush, healthy hair with the finest shea butter shampoo and conditioner. Once finished, she would step out into the steamy bathroom, and in her fog-free body length mirror, she would study her fit figure, rotating slowly as she inspected her body closely.

Everyday Elsa followed her strict facial skin care routine of deep oil cleansing, exfoliating with a lactic acid wipe, splashing on refreshing toner, moisturizing with organic lotion, and applying a thin layer of sunscreen for protection, though she rarely spent her time outdoors.

As Elsa gently rubbed the last remnants of sunscreen into her soft, supple cheek, she thought about the world she lived in. In order for someone like her to survive in this cold, calculating world, a morning routine like this was essential. This world was judging, shallow, self-indulgent, selfish and full of greed. And after many years of perfecting her art, she had this world in the palm of her hand.

She leaned back and observed her bare body one last time, thinking about just how important her looks, appearance and behaviors were. In this world, they were her ultimate tools; her life's work depended on how people perceived her and what they thought of her, because she wasn't just influencing people and gaining their trust; she was essentially selling an image of herself. It was about taking control by manipulation. It was about owning her own power.

For Elsa was a con artist. And she was damn good at it too.

There was reliability in regularity: morning ritual, go to "work", bring in the money, and come home to her apartment, where she lived alone. Consistency was key.

So every day of her world was the same.

Every day except for today.

Elsa switched on the 7 AM news almost perfectly on cue as the overly dramatic introduction started up. She let the television run in the background as she prepared her breakfast: sprouted grain bread topped with scrambled egg white, topped with four slices of avocado, topped with a dash of pepper, with a side of Greek yogurt with diced strawberries. Fats, protein, and complex carbs. Perfectly balanced, perfectly nutritional. Her body would absorb every bit and run smoothly on the meal.

As she listened to the newscaster forecast the weekly weather, she licked the last bit of yogurt off her spoon, rose to clean up her area and placed the dishes in the sink. She reached over and opened the cupboard, grabbed an unlabeled prescription bottle, and opened it to shake out a single, pink, oval pill.

_Thank god for Steve,_ she thought, popping the pill into the back of her throat and swallowing it back without water. Steve was her trusted primary dealer.

_DING~ DONG~_

Elsa jumped and almost choked when the doorbell rang, loud and jarring and bounding off the walls and hardwood floor of her apartment. She froze, her eyes widening.

She _never_ had guests. The only person that ever visited her was her partner, Kristoff, and he always _knocked_ on the door.

_Diiiiing~ Dooonggg~_

Heart hammering against her chest, Elsa whipped her arm to the remote and turned off the TV. Like a deer in headlights, she stood as still as possible, as if the person outside would be able to hear her make even one move.

_Who the hell could it be?_

She had no idea. She thought about not answering the door, but that would increase the possibility of them returning again, which was the last thing she wanted. She cringed. _Better to turn them away, once and for all._

She continued to stand in place, still unsure with the decision she'd made. Then, suddenly, three loud bangs against the door made her jump and scramble towards it to make the nerve-wracking ruckus stop.

_Who the freaking hell? First thing in the morning...ugh..._ she thought, crossly twisting the heavy top lock and turning the bottom one. She was irritated. She didn't want to be late for "work"- though she didn't have a formal boss or workplace. Routine and consistency were just her way of doing things, and this rude disturbance wasn't making her morning any more pleasant.

She paused for a moment to brace herself. Then Elsa cracked open the door, slowly, just enough so that her one eye could peer through the narrow slit, only slightly reassured by the door chain connected to the wall. Her feeling of dread quickly dissipated as her gaze was met with a soft pair of eyes, glistening with nervousness and anticipation. Elsa opened the door a little further.

Always having been a nervous and anxious person, Elsa was surprised to find herself feeling a different sensation of nervousness as she studied the girl in front of her, her heart lightly fluttering. Her visitor had on a backwards baseball cap, strawberry hair flowing out from under it, making her turquoise eyes seem almost luminous. Light freckles were playfully sprinkled across her nose and cheeks, her rosy lips in a small, timid smile. The girl had a tomboyish flair- tight grey jeans, a light tan leather jacket, with large, white combat boots. The messenger bag slung over her shoulder slipped a bit, and she pulled the strap up to secure it.

"Yes?" Elsa asked quietly, with a hint of annoyance.

"H-hi..." the girl said, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Um, sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but I had to come first thing, because I really wanted to meet you. I just couldn't wait." She fiddled with her jacket zipper. "So, um, is your name Elsa?"

Slightly furrowing her eyebrows, Elsa replied. "Yes..." _How did she get my name? Who is this girl? _She looked about eighteen or so.

The girl cleared her throat. "My name's Anna, and...well...I don't know how to say it, so I'll just say it. I-I'm your younger sister."

Elsa stifled a grumble. "I'm sorry, you're mistaken. I don't have a younger sister. Now, if you'll excuse me...I have to go to work," and she started to close the door, but was met with the thud of the girl's hand holding it open.

"Our parents, Akthar and Ithunn, right?" Her voice was firm now, and Elsa blinked at her. She was right, those were her birth parent's names, but she certainly had no siblings and she was sure of that. Elsa looked down at her watch.

"I'm sorry, but I really have to go to work. Honestly, the adoption agency probably misinformed you or made some kind of mistake, because when my biological parents gave me away, I'm pretty sure I was old enough to remember if I had a younger sister or not. So now, if you'll excuse me," and she decisively shut the door and locked it.

Elsa stood with her back against the door, breathing quietly as her heart continued to flutter. She waited for the girl to go away, but was further annoyed when she heard her fumbling outside. Elsa didn't like anybody visiting, not even Kristoff, who she knew and trusted. She didn't like strangers, especially ones that claimed crazy things, throwing her off her schedule first thing in the morning.

Her heart skipped when in the corner of her eye she saw something slip under the door, and she looked down to find a torn piece of paper. Hearing her footsteps finally trail away outside, Elsa reached down and picked it up. The paper was pink and pre-decorated, printed with cherries and hearts. Scribbled on it was a phone number.

_Call me._

_-Anna_

A faint smell was coming from the scrap of paper, and she brought it to her nose. _Cherry scented paper? _Elsa stared at it. This girl was just a kid, a kid who was confused or had been wrongly informed. She tossed the scrap into the key bowl sitting on the table by her door, and quickly went to get her things to go to the "office". Elsa scoffed as she picked up her professional messenger bag.

It was ridiculous- a sister? Elsa almost laughed on her way out.

* * *

_I forgot to wash the dishes. I fucking forgot the wash the fucking dishes._

Rubbing her temples, Elsa clenched her jaw as she pictured the dirty, crusty, unwashed dishes from this morning's breakfast that were just sitting in her kitchen sink, gathering and teeming with more bacteria by the second.

_That stupid, stupid girl just threw everything off, first thing in the morning...ugh how could I forget to wash the dishes?!_

"Elsa, you alright over there? Are you still thinking about that girl?" Elsa lifted an eyelid to peer over at Kristoff, who was sitting across from her, his feet propped up on the office desk, leaning back in his swivel chair and messily eating a fast-food breakfast sandwich.

"Can you please eat that somewhere else, it smells like asshole," Elsa gritted through her teeth. The ventilation in the tiny office was nonexistent, much to her dismay.

"How do you even know what asshole smells like?" Kristoff replied with his full mouth.

Elsa cocked an eyebrow at him. "Well, I sure do know what yours smells like, 'cuz I can smell it from all the way from over here when you walk by. It would probably help if you scrubbed it clean at least couple times a month."

How they were partners and worked so well together, she had no idea. But she trusted him, regardless of all his messy and unkempt mannerisms. They'd met two years ago and Elsa taught him everything she knew about her field, and although she was still a lot better than him, he was a natural himself.

Kristoff chortled as he popped the last bit of the sandwich into his mouth. He crumpled up and threw the wrapping into the trashcan by the door, where it missed and landed on the floor. "I'm sorry I don't take three showers every day, miss thang."

They both looked at the ball of trash, and Elsa shot Kristoff a look. "Fiiinee," Kristoff groaned as he rolled his eyes and got up from his seat to properly throw it away.

The "office" was small, perfectly appropriate for about two people. It was supposed to be a large office supply closet for the office building it was in, but Elsa and Kristoff lucked out having found the space on craigslist for fairly cheap. It was large enough for two office desks, which were now faced towards each other in the middle of the room, with one window looking out from the second floor. Located at the very end of the hallway, there would be very minimal traffic coming their way; nobody to bother them about anything, and that was just the way she liked things. They needed an official office space to register their fraudulent business.

First, Elsa would call current customers of InterCable, a popular internet provider. Pretending to be an InterCable representative, in her most pleasant and professional voice, she would call and inform customers that their computers or laptops were creating errors and that the company needed to send an I.T. guy to correct these faults, free of charge of course. Then, Kristoff, the I.T. guy would go to their houses and "take a look" at their computers, quickly installing a virus that would show these so-called errors on their screens. Kristoff would come to the conclusion that they would need to purchase some form of support or better security software, and he'd offer to take care of it for them right then and there, and just like that the unsuspecting customers would give him their credit card details.

They did riskier cons on the side, where the bigger bucks were made.

"So this girl, just...out of nowhere comes and says she's your sister? How old was she?" Kristoff asked as he plopped back down into his chair.

"She looked like she was still in college, like a freshman or sophomore maybe...just a kid," Elsa replied, looking up at the ceiling to try to remember the details of the mysterious girl.

"Dude, we're practically just kids too, you know."

"We are not," Elsa shot back, "We're twenty-three. We're young adults."

"Okay so, let's say she's...I dunno...eighteen. So you guys would be..." he tried to do the math.

"Five or six years apart," she quickly replied back.

"Right. And what age did you say you were given up for adoption?"

"I was around six."

"Okay so by the time th-wait wait wait-I remember you saying something about your parents getting an abortion though, you told me something about that, right?"

Elsa stared back at him, trying to think back to her unclear and fuzzy memories of her younger days with her biological parents. When Elsa was given up for adoption, she remembered her parents throwing around the word "abortion" around that time, and she never knew what that meant until much later. So maybe her parents aborted a possible younger sibling, but who was she to care? She sure as hell didn't. She wanted nothing to do with her biological parents; they were irresponsible high school dropouts who tried to take care of her for six years, but ended up giving her away because of drug and gambling addictions. They were idiots and Elsa never cared to contact or reach out to them. She was much better on her own. She'd spent most of her child and teenage years at an adoption house with other abandoned children, for eager parents only wanted fresh newborns.

Elsa replied hesitantly. "Well...yea, but I never gave that much thought. I mean even if they did get an abortion..." She stopped, and a cold shiver suddenly ran through her body. _What if... they never got the abortion?_

"Elsa, what if they never got that abortion?" Kristoff said, as if he were reading her mind. "What if, that girl is _actually _your sister? Just...imagine that for a second..."

Elsa stared at Kristoff as her mouth slowly parted and hung in disbelief. No, it couldn't be...a younger sister? The idea was...almost horrifying. She lived a solo life, and she liked it that way. There was nobody else to take care of except for herself, nobody else to worry about, nobody to sniff around and ruin her perfectly private lifestyle.

"No, it's impossible," she said firmly, trying to convince herself. "Somebody would've told me by now, or she would've contacted me a lot sooner..."

"Who would've told you Elsa? Your parents? Obviously not, they're a bunch of crazies...no offense."

Elsa scoffed, "None taken."

Kristoff continued. "And, this girl, wait what's her name again?"

"Anna," Elsa said thoughtfully, her name softly floating out of her mouth, like it was the most foreign and exotic thing.

"Right, Anna. So maybe Anna just realized she had an older sibling, or her parents wouldn't tell her, or maybe the adoption agency wouldn't tell her until she turned eighteen, I have no clue." Kristoff threw up his hands and placed them behind his head as he propped up his feet again. "I think you should call her. What's the worst that could happen?"

Elsa nervously gnawed at her lower lip, deep in thought.

_What's the worst that could happen?_


	2. Chapter 2

Careful not to drip onto her suit, Elsa ate her morning cereal of nuts and whole grain flakes and bananas with caution, gingerly bringing the last spoonful up to her mouth. Today they were to meet with an important client, one that Kristoff had been anticipating working with for a while. "_Like a fat and loaded fish in a barrel," _he'd said.

She gently dabbed her lips with her napkin and rose to put the dishes away, being extra mindful to wash them today. She placed the dishes in the sink, ran the water, and reached up to the cupboard and grabbed the pill bottle. As she twisted open the top and tipped the bottle into her hand, the doorbell bellowed and shook the apartment, prompting a startled Elsa to jump and drop the bottle, and she watched in horror as the running water washed down each little pill into the garbage disposal.

Elsa quickly turned off the water and gripped her head with her hands, staring down at the dark, damp, grimy hole.

She just stared.

And stared.

There was no way she was going to put anything in her mouth that had fallen into that pit of hell. The realization shot through her body. She didn't have any more pills. How was she going to last through the meeting, through the day, through the morning?!

_Diinggg~ Donngg~_

_What the fucking fuck?!_

Elsa grumbled loudly and turned off the TV, throwing the remote onto the island counter where it clattered noisily. She marched to the door and violently twisted open the locks and yanked the door open, only to have it loudly thud and halt in place by the chain hooked to the wall.

"What?!"

The girl's head lurched backwards slightly, in surprise of Elsa's tone. She nervously started to fiddle with her jacket zipper. "Umm...you never called me," she said quietly.

Elsa opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself, for she started to feel the same fluttering sensation she'd felt the morning before. The girl was wearing the same backwards baseball cap, but with pigtails today. Elsa took a few deep breaths and straightened herself.

"Look...Anna, right?" and the girl gave a small nod. Her eyes were both sad and hopeful at the same time, boring into Elsa, just big and round, like a puppy dog.

Elsa sighed. "I'm a really busy person, especially today. I'll call you when I have the chance, okay?" But Anna didn't look convinced, giving a small pout. "Can we just...just while I'm here, can we set up a meeting time...and place at least?"

Not receiving a reply, Anna eagerly continued. "Why don't we meet tomorrow, Saturday? You don't have work on Saturdays do you? Any time, we can meet anytime and anywhere you want. What about the diner just below us, on the first floor? It's right here."

Elsa started to feel her heart rate quicken in her chest and was reminded of her medication dilemma. She needed to call Steve. Now. "Fine, fine, just...3 PM tomorrow alright? I've gotta go now." She started to close the door, but was stopped by Anna's hand again.

"You promise? You promise you'll be there?"

"Yes, I promise," Elsa irritably replied, because she was a person to always keep her promises. She'd have to be there tomorrow.

"Okay, three, tomorrow, at the diner..." the girl said softly, and Elsa saw a smile small before she finally closed the door and locked it. She immediately shoved the encounter with Anna into the corner of her mind, because she felt the anxiety start to overwhelm her. A familiar sensation of trepidation was quickly seeping into and throughout her body, and she felt herself start to sweat.

_I've got to get out of the suit._

In her walk-in closet now, she did her best to control her breathing as she carefully slipped her trembling body out of her business suit, folding it at the creases and hanging it neatly on the veldt hanger. In her undergarments, she shakily walked over to the living room and picked up her cell phone, pressed speed dial, and waited as it rang.

_It's gunna be okay...it's gunna be okay..._

"I'm sorry; you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service..."

_What the hell?_

Elsa felt her chest start to tighten. She hung up and punched in the speed dial number again.

_Come on Steve...come on..._

"I'm sorry; you-"

Elsa swore at the phone as she hung up. She pushed her finger into the call button again.

"I'm so-"

"Fuck!" She threw the phone into her sofa, lodging it in-between the cushions. Where the hell was Steve?! Why wasn't he picking up? What was she going to do?

She intertwined her trembling hands together and clutched them to her chest, which felt like it was being ripped in half. She prepared herself for the worst. It was happening. It was happening and she couldn't do a thing about it. It was going to happen.

Absolute dread settled over her as she felt her temple start to bead with sweat. All sense of control was wiped down the drain with the pills and she could do nothing but submit to the looming impulses that were creeping into every cell of her body.

Feeling lightheaded, she headed back into her closet to change into her sweatpants and shirt. The shortness of her breaths made it difficult to focus, and her mind was racing, like an endless roll of thoughts whizzing through and disappearing before she could give them any attention. Everything was a haze, and she couldn't focus on anything but this one crushing compulsion. The only way to maintain her sanity now was to clean. Right now. And everything.

As she stepped out from her bedroom into the living room, in an instant her apartment seemed just filthy, crawling with germs and bacteria, the air stale and musty with dust settling and swirling all around her. Ignoring the pain in her chest the best she could, she tied a face mask around her head with her trembling fingers, and got to work.

Elsa gasped as five familiar knocks at the door jarred her from her spell. Consciousness kicked in as she looked out the window to see the sun shining downward into the apartment, indicating it was noon.

"Elsa open up!" The five knocks thudded against her door again. Kristoff always knocked five times.

A bead of sweat trickled down her back as she stood up from scrubbing the floor to go open the door. The cleaning had helped alleviate the intensity of her symptoms somewhat, but she still felt completely unhinged.

"What?" she shouted as the door loudly stopped in place from the chain attached to the wall. The gust of wind from the door felt cooler than usual against her face, and she knew she it was probably covered in sweat. She pulled down her face mask to air out her skin.

"Jesus Elsa, you look terrible! What happened?" Kristoff looked concerned, but there was also a hint of frustration. "We have the meeting today, what are you doing?"

"Shit." She completely forgot about the meeting and she started to feel uneasy all over again. "Shit."

"Let me in." He reached his arm through the gap to try to unhook the chain, but was unsuccessful. Having no energy to send him away, she gave in and shoved his arm out and closed the door, then unhooked the chain to let him in.

"God it reeks of bleach! I can barely breathe!" he exclaimed as he walked into the apartment. But Elsa didn't respond as she threw herself onto the couch and drew herself into a fetal position, hugging her knees. Her breathing started to get uneven again, and she closed her eyes to try to control it.

"You had another episode, didn't you? I knew it, I freaking knew it. Alright hold on..." She heard him walk over to the kitchen, where he opened a cupboard and pulled out a brown paper bag and rustled it open.

"T-take off your shoes!"

"Alright alright!"

His footsteps softer now, Elsa heard him walk over and he pulled and sat her up. "Okay Elsa, just breath...breath." Elsa listened, putting her mouth into the paper bag and breathing in and out. The crinkling sound of the bag strangely calmed her down.

"Atta girl." And Elsa was thankful. Her lightheadedness started to get better, and she turned to Kristoff to say thanks but her eyes widened when she saw him reach over to the coffee table to grab the lidded drink that he had brought with him, but it slipped in his grip and crashed to the floor, sending waves of thick, chocolate shake in all directions. The crinkling of the bag intensified as her breathing became more frantic, and Elsa laid back down on the sofa and moaned as she clenched her chest with her other hand.

"Damn it! Don't worry I got it, I got it." He ran to the kitchen and grabbed a handful of paper towels, and ran back to try to scoop up as much of the thick goopy mess as he could. Elsa closed her eyes to avoid witnessing the horror of it all, focusing on breathing into the bag.

After what seemed like eternity, Kristoff gave a sigh of satisfaction. "Alright, all done." Elsa took a peek and saw that he'd cleaned up most of the mess, but she eyed a streak that he'd missed. "There...right there," and she brought up a unsteady hand to point at the small, almost invisible streak.

"Where?"

"There."

Unable to see it, Kristoff groaned and just kind of sloshed the wet paper towel all around on the floor, hoping he'd get it that way, which he did to her relief. Thank goodness her floor was wood paneled and not carpet.

"Now?"

"Yea."

Closing her eyes again and breathing into the bag, she heard him clean up and throw away the heap of paper towels. He then sat next to her on the sofa.

"I assume Steve's out of town or something?"

"I couldn't contact him...his number is disconnected or something," she murmured into the bag.

"Dude I bet you anything he got caught, 'cuz it would've at least gone to his voicemail. I think you'll have to find someone new."

Elsa huffed out in frustration. "You don't understand. Steve was my golden boy. Do you know how hard it is to find someone like him? I mean he got those pills _just _for me and nobody else. There's literally nobody that deals just my pills. Like, nobody. Everybody is just dealing uppers."

"Right..." Kristoff replied solemnly, for he knew there wasn't much hope for Elsa without Steve. One of, if not _the_ most important rule for people in their field was to _stay off the record, _any and all records. Anything that could get linked to their personal and real identities was off limits, and that included medical records. So going to a psychiatrist was never an option for Elsa. Also, the idea of being trapped in a small room, pointlessly talking to a stranger about her personal life seemed like one of the worst ways to spend an hour.

After a moment of silence, Kristoff snapped his fingers. "Oh my god, I just remembered...I think I can solve your problem." Elsa peered over at him, and he continued. "So, I went out with a friend to a bar the other night, right? And he was telling me about his friend who just finished med school and is doing his psychiatry residency in the city." He quickly pulled out his phone and swiped the screen. "K just let me make a call first to make sure, and I'll give you the details when I figure it all out," and he got up to place his call outside the apartment in the hallway.

As Elsa listened to his muffled murmurs from inside the apartment, her chest still tight and still feeling a bit nauseous, she felt grateful for Kristoff. He was loud, messy, and rambunctious, his hair always a bit tousled. He always ate whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. It was a love/hate relationship; whenever he was around, she felt more at ease at times, but then he'd go and do something to drive her up the wall, like bring a feral cat into the office that he had found one morning, being absolutely oblivious about the possibility of it having rabies or ticks. He decided it was best to return it to its "natural habitat" that evening when he found a series of tick bites on his leg.

She heard him laughing from the hallway outside. In addition to all this, people seemed to like him, a lot. He had tons of connections, and always knew the right people. He was the one that introduced Steve to her in the first place.

For Kristoff loved charming people. Only Elsa would be able to tell when he was about to use his charm on someone; his eyes would start to sparkle, he would lean in closer and use more physical contact, and his voice would lower a couple notches to reach a subtle huskiness. Ladies would blush and giggle, and men would puff out their chests with pride when they were around Kristoff. And he loved every bit of it. He was almost as good as she was. Almost.

The door opened and Kristoff bounded to Elsa's side. His voice was low but enthusiastic as he spoke quickly, like he was telling her a big secret. "Okay, so here are the deets - there's a guy that's doing his residency in psychiatry right now, and he can get you your meds. It can all be off the record, and you don't even have to go to the pharmacy to get 'em, it's so perfect. I just got his number from Jason and called him, and he can meet you in an hour. He has an office uptown where he does cognitive therapy for juveniles, as community service or something I dunno."

This sounded good. Good ole' Kristoff. But before Elsa got up, she felt a twinge of guilt. "What about the meeting today?"

"Oh, I called the guy just now and rescheduled for this weekend. We're meeting Saturday night. It's the soonest he could do it. You owe me buddy."

Relieved, Elsa dug her arm into the sofa to pull out her phone and Kristoff quickly entered in the doctor's contact information for her.

They hurried down the elevator to the underground parking lot, jumped in Kristoff's jeep and squealed around corners and zoomed through yellow lights. Surprisingly, Elsa didn't mind the reckless driving, partially because she needed to the meds as soon as possible, and also because Kristoff was a good driver. He sure didn't follow the rules, Elsa thought as they ran a stop sign, but that didn't mean he wasn't a good driver.

She checked in with herself for a moment. She felt better now that her body knew it was going to get help soon, so she crumpled up the bag and threw it over her shoulder with the rest of Kristoff's trash in the back seat. She put up her feet against the glove compartment, but was reminded of what was in there and set her feet back down.

"It still in there?" she asked. She'd rather not open it.

"Yup."

She stayed silent for a moment, contemplating about talking about it. But she decided not to, and just skirted around the subject. "I still don't understand why you keep it in the car. It's too risky. What if you get pulled over one day?"

He gave a small chuckle and said, "That's what makes it so exciting." Elsa gave him an unamused face, but her eyes widened when he reached over and opened the glove compartment, and pulled out a shiny, black handgun.

"Jeez Kristoff! What the hell!?" Elsa exclaimed, leaning back into her chair as he brought it to his lips and kissed it. "How's my baby doing?" he said as he lovingly rubbed it against his cheek.

"Are you being serious right now?! It's broad daylight! Put it back!" She grabbed the handle and snatched it away from him. She carefully placed it back next to the box of bullets and quickly shut the glove compartment.

"Relax! It's not even loaded," he said smiling.

"Ughh sometimes...you..." she grumbled and crossed her arms. Her heart was pounding.

"Yours still in your apartment? In your safe, wherever that is?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Yes," she muttered back, still not over what just happened. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair to collect herself.

"But you've got to admit, the road trip to Texas to get them was fun, wasn't it? I told you it was gunna be worth it. I mean, we're obviously never going to use them, but it's nice knowing you have one, right?"

They'd gotten them illegally. The two of them drove all the way to Texas to get them, to have them just in case, but Elsa knew Kristoff just wanted one to have it. _"You never know what' might happen Elsa, especially for people like us. Better to be safe than sorry," _he would always say to try to convince her to get one with him. And being the paranoid parrot she was, she gave in, traveling for three days just to purchase a secure state of mind. Elsa had to admit though, the road trip was fun.

She suddenly snorted, but quickly stifled her laughter when her mind flashed back to when they were buying the actual handguns. Kristoff glanced over. "What..." he asked with a low voice, like he knew what she was smiling about. "Oh nothing..." Elsa replied, looking out the window to hide her small smile. He heard him grumble something while he sharply turned a corner.

"_I think this'll do nicely for you, young lady," said the merchant, holding out a small, slender, silver gun that was about the size of Elsa's palm. "It's small, but I gotta tell ya, this thing is powerful, and expensive. Not a lotta fella's can afford this thang. Bang for the buck."_

"_I'll take it..." Elsa said in wonder as she held the heavy metal in her hand. She gripped it in both her hands like she'd seen them do in the movies, and brought it up and aimed it, squinting her eye. Electricity was rippling through her body._

_She heard the merchant chuckle. "Hold yer horses miss, we ain't done yet. Gotta pick what kinda ammo ya want next. Then we'll get ta' this cutie over here," and Elsa turned just in time to see the merchant raise and wiggle his eyebrows at Kristoff, whose face was stony and uncomfortable. He shot his head down to pretended to be fascinated by the guns in the glass display case in front of him._

"_So, what kind ya want?" and the merchant turned to wave his arm at the wall behind him, which was stocked from top to bottom with all kinds of different cartridges and boxes of all sizes, shapes, and colors._

_Elsa gawked at the wall behind him. "Wow, uhhhh I have no idea. Can I just get some standard ones?"_

_The merchant smiled. "Sure sure, but I'll tell ya what. Because this baby is so special, I'll give ya something that has a little more kick to it. I feel like I need to give my friend a lil' partin' gift before you leave with it, know what I mean?" and with that he turned around and searched for a while, then exclaimed a little "Aha" and pulled out a small, black box, in which the small metals inside clattered when he dropped it onto the counter. The merchant then took a few steps toward Kristoff and leaned over hungrily. "And for you, handsome? You want a big one? I got a big one for you, if you want." He winked._

_Kristoff took a few steps back and crossed his arms. Elsa thought he looked like a nervous, grumpy little boy. "Just give me a normal black one, k? We're on a schedule, so we need to go. I just want a regular black one."_

_The merchant stayed in his spot against the counter. "Ah so you like 'em black ones now d'ya," and Elsa heard Kristoff mutter something under his breath. He then marched to the adjacent wall where some guns were being displayed, and he aggressively pointed to one. "That one alright? Just give me that one, and give me some bullets, and...and we're out of here."_

_The merchant slyly cocked an eyebrow. "Alright cutie, as you wish," and he headed into the back of the store._

_Elsa shot Kristoff a goofy grin, and he walked over to her and whispered loudly. "God can you believe this? Ugh what the hell. And in Texas too...Texas!"_

_She peered down at the small silver gun she'd been preciously gripping and turned it slowly in her hand to admire it. "Doesn't feel that great does it? Don't worry, we'll be out of here soon," Elsa said distractedly to Kristoff. Even though this wasn't her idea in the first place, she couldn't help but feel excited. Her fingers tingled as they gripped the cold metal. They heard footsteps and Kristoff pulled away from the counter to create a safe distance._

"_Alright, here ya are. Now what kind of ammo yo-"_

"_Those ones, right there. Just give them to me," Kristoff snapped as he pointed to not any box in particular on the wall._

"_Which ones, these ones?" the merchant asked as he pointed to a cartridge._

"_Yes those."_

"_Now wai-"_

"_Let's go let's go let's go! We have somewhere we need to be."_

"_Uhh you su-"_

"_Yes I'm sure!" He snapped again and pulled out an envelope of cash from inside his leather jacket._

"_Alrighty then. Suit yerself," the merchant said as shook his head in disappointment._

_Outside in Kristoff's car, the two stared in awe at their new purchases that were gleaming shiny and new in the sunlight. They stroked them as if the weapons were their new pets. Suddenly, Elsa sat up and fit hers back into the foam padding and stuffed it back in her box. "K, I'm gunna repeat myself. These are for just in case alright? Like, extreme emergencies, not that anything of the sort should happen, but just in case. For peace of mind." She knew they were probably never going to use it anyways. Kristoff just wanted it to have one._

"_Yup...peace of mind."_

They finally pulled up to an unappealing looking, brown, two-story building. Kristoff said he'd be eating at a nearby fast food place while waiting, and he wished her luck and drove off. Elsa turned to look up at the old building and frowned.

_Get in, then get out._

She took a deep breath as she pulled open the door leading into the aged, old-fashioned building. She navigated through the musty hallways and found the office, and let herself inside to find a young man in a white coat already sitting inside the lobby reading a magazine. He looked like the medical school type, wearing thin-rimmed glasses, a tweedish, threadbare jacket, completed with khaki pants and brown oxfords.

He looked up at her. "Elsa, right?" and she nodded. She was suddenly overcome with dread, realizing what she'd have to probably go through to get those damn pills.

"This way please," and he led her past the unattended reception area into the back of the office, where they walked past several unlit rooms, all unoccupied and dark. The place gave her the chills.

"Sorry about the place," he said as if he recognized her discomfort. "As a resident in debt, you can't always afford the best places. I'm sure Kristoff told you about the community service I do," he said as he led her into what looked like his office.

It was quite bare, with only two armchairs slightly facing each other with a small table between them, and a desk on the far side where it was messily stacked with manila folders and papers. A metal filing cabinet sat awkwardly in the corner with a chessboard and its pieces set on top of it. She immediately disliked the whole place and wanted to get out as soon as possible.

"So if you'll just take a seat there," and he pointed to one of the armchairs while he headed to his desk. He brought back a pad of paper and pen and sat himself down. Elsa cautiously sat at the edge of the armchair, avoiding touching as much of the chair as possible.

"Okay," he exhaled out as he settled himself in the armchair, and he looked up at her intently as he touched his fingertips of each hand to make a v-shape. Elsa was annoyed at him already. She met his gaze and stared back with hostility, daring not to look away first. She hated this psycho-analyzing shit. He was going to try to pry and meddle in all her business and personal life. She clenched her jaw as the discomfort of it all seeped into and made her skin crawl.

The guy took in a deep breath. "So...Elsa. I guess we'll start with the logistics first to get it out of the way. People call me Doctor Wilcox, but you can call me Ryan. I'm in debt from medical school and I need some cash. Pharmacy companies that are trying to market their brand give me their products to give to my patients, so I have access to what you're looking for. We can do this completely off the books. All I'm asking for is some cash in an envelope each week we have our sessions, your cooperation, and confidentiality of course. I need more practice with therapy too, so I'm going to ask you to be my patient. Does that sound like something we can arrange?"

Tight-lipped, Elsa sat and thought for a moment, ruminating on what he'd said. And it didn't sit well with her, at all. "I just want the meds. I don't need the therapy," she said in a small, even voice.

He looked at her while twiddling with the pen in his fingers. She sensed his eyes trying to dig into her mind, trying to read her, analyze her. She hated every second of this.

"Elsa, I'm doing you a favor, and I'd like you to do the same for me. Before I give you any medication I need to be sure that you'll need them, and in order to determine if you'll need them, we need to talk. I still take my profession seriously."

Elsa glared at him in a cold silence, and they stared at each other for a good couple minutes, the doctor irritating Elsa further with his composed expression and his small, beady, inquisitive eyes. She thought about if there was any other way she could get the meds, any way she could avoid this, but her short mental search turned up nothing. She gritted her teeth, as she knew this was probably the only way. This was _such _a waste of her time, just _such _a waste. She already knew she was fucked up, her natural keenness and self-introspection made sure she was damn well aware of that. Her sense of perceptiveness and intuition was a gift in her field, but also a curse; she knew more than she wanted to know about herself. Everything he had to tell her or try to fix, she probably already knew herself, and this was just such a waste of time.

She sat back deeper into the armchair and threw up her hands in defeat. "Okay, fine, let me make this easy for you. You're gunna ask about my parents, and long story short they're crack and gambling addicts. One of them probably has some form of anxiety, which got passed down to me, gotta love genetics. I was given up for adoption when I was six because they obviously couldn't take care of me, and I honestly don't know how I even lived that long in the first place under their "care". And of course nobody comes to an adoption house looking for a six year old. They want a fresh new baby...it's not that hard to understand. I haven't talked to my biological parents since, and I sure don't plan to in the future. I don't like dirt, I don't like it when people wear their shoes on my hardwood floor. I like being healthy, I exercise every day and eat right. Certain things distract me...make me feel sick to my stomach-"

"Have these distractions affected your work of late?" he interrupted, and Elsa almost rolled her eyes. The question was right out of a textbook.

"Yes."

"Have they affected your personal relationships?"

She laughed. "What personal relationships?"

"So...no significant other? When was the last time you were in a relationship? When did you last have a girlfriend?"

Elsa stopped. She stared at him, taken back by the last question. How did he know she was into women?

"Uhh...years ago. Years and years ago," she said more evenly now. Maybe he was better than she thought. "It's rude to assume anybody's orientation, you know."

"I'm that good."

Later in Kristoff's car, Elsa examined her new, light green oval tablets Ryan had given her. Each of them were enclosed in a plastic and foil encasing, so that if you wanted one you'd have to peel off the back and push the pill through the foil. There was a small symbol on that back of each segment that didn't look like anything she'd seen in particular before, but she remembered they were new on the market. He'd given her a sheet of nine. Well, eight now. She'd already taken one first thing.

"So he just gave them to you in his office, just like that?" Kristoff asked, eyeing the tablets.

"Yea."

"Do you feel better?"

"A little." She did feel better. She felt less anxious, and the churning in her stomach had lessened significantly.

"Heyy aright. You owe me one. What are you doing tomorrow?"

Looking out the window she thought about her weekend plans, not that she ever had any. She usually stayed in, cleaned, and watched movies. Movies were her favorite thing, not only because they provided a calming distraction from her hectic life, but also because they were educational. She studied and learned from them; how to socialize with, charm, and pull in the people she manipulated. Hollywood had perfect ideals and standards to which she practiced, matched, and perfected her acting abilities to.

But something was tugging at her.

And suddenly, she remembered. The small corner of her mind where she buried the encounter this morning let itself loose and flooded her mind, and all her attention was now focused on the meeting with Anna tomorrow. She felt her stomach start to churn again.

"Shit, I'm meeting with that girl Anna tomorrow."

"Oh dang, that girl who's claiming to be your sister? Wow good luck with that, let me know how it goes."

She felt her heart flutter in that weird way again as she thought about her impending meeting with the girl. The mysterious girl in pigtails and backwards baseball cap.


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n**: Like my previous fic, I'd like to make it clear that part 1 of this story is adapted from a movie. But please! If you recognize the movie, pleaseeee keep it to yourself, at least until the end of part one. I'll reveal what the movie is at the end of part 1, but please don't guess/type which movie it is in the reviews or anything or share it with anyone on tumblr/social media. I would appreciate it sooo much, thank you.

Alright, enjoy chapter 3!

-oikos

* * *

Elsa brought the cup of black coffee to her lips and took a small sip of the steaming liquid. The afternoon rush was over and the diner was fairly empty, with a couple patrons here and there finishing up their late lunches. She'd never been inside before. It was one of those all-American diners, with bright red booths and white tables, an antique jukebox, nothing but the heavy smell of burgers and fries wafting out from the kitchen, and jazz music playing from the speakers overhead. _California's Best Apple Pie! _a sign boasted over the kitchen opening beyond the bar table. Elsa doubted it.

She brought the warm mug to her lips again, not particularly craving the coffee, but needing to keep herself busy with _something,_ with all this nervous energy coursing through her body. The coffee probably wasn't the best for her jitters, but she sipped it anyways.

Her muscles tensed when the little bell on the entrance door jingled, and she looked up to see just another old fellow probably coming in for a late lunch. It was still early, about ten minutes before their meeting time. Elsa lowered her shoulders and rolled her head around, letting loose a few cracks. She was tense.

Taking another small sip, she thought about the implications of this meeting. So, she had a sister. And her parents kept this one. Okay...

So, what did it mean to have a sister? Was it difficult being an older sister? Were there a lot of responsibilities? Elsa gnawed at her lower lip. Would she have to take care of the girl? How do you take care of someone? She could barely take care of herself. And would they have to spend a lot of time together, talk while doing each other's nails and stuff? Given her occupation, it all didn't seem very ideal.

_Sister. Sister._

She repeated the word over and over in her mind, as if she were trying to summon the concept forth so she could better grasp and understand it. _Sister. _She looked down at the black coffee. _Sister. _ The word seemed to swim out in front of her eyes for a moment, but then quickly disappeared. The idea was so alien and foreign to her. She'd lived almost her whole life alone, and now, she had a sister?

The bell jingled brightly on the door again and she jerked her head up.

Her heart started fiercely pounding against her chest.

It was her.

It was Anna.

Elsa saw her scanning the place and she shot up her hand to let her know where she was. Anna's face lit up when her eyes landed on Elsa, and she returned a quick wave and started heading over. Heart pounding in her chest, Elsa got up from the booth, not quite knowing why.

For such a young girl, her gait was confident and bold. Her white combat boots clunked against the diner floor, and her messenger bag knocked against a few chairs on her way over. People took notice.

"Hi," Anna said, smiling politely as she approached the booth. Elsa stood there, not knowing if she should shake her hand, hug the girl, pat her on the shoulder-_how does one greet a long, lost sister?_

Elsa reached up and nervously fiddled with the tip of her braid. "Hi." She didn't know what else to say. She could feel the awkwardness pressing in and weighing down over them. They stood there, facing each other by the booth in silence, with eyes darting to the table, to the cup of coffee, back to each other, then to the waitress.

Finally, Anna cleared her throat and spoke. "Thanks for coming. It means a lot," the girl said shyly.

"No problem. Uhmm...should we sit?" Elsa asked as she awkwardly gestured to the booth next to them. "Are you hungry?" Anna looked down at the cup of coffee. "Yea, I guess I could eat," and she turned around to wave down a waitress.

As Elsa sat down, she discreetly wiped her sweaty palms on her pants. Anna plopped down across from her and unslung her messenger bag and set it down besides her. The waitress came with the menu but Anna stopped her before she set it down. "Can I get the cheeseburger combo, with a coke please?"

"Sure thing sweetie."

"Thanks."

Anna looked back at Elsa, who nervously took the mug back into her hands and took a sip of the bitter coffee, then another. _Say something! _She forced herself to pry the mug away from her mouth. "So...you've been here before?"

"Yea. I came and ate here after I visited you, both times."

Elsa felt a twinge of guilt and looked down at the mug in her hands. "Oh...sorry about that. I just, I never have visitors, and it just, kind of threw me off."

"No don't apologize," Anna quickly replied. "I shouldn't have come so early in the morning, on a weekday too. I guess I was just really excited to meet you."

Elsa usually had good command of her behaviors, actions, and words when dealing with people. But strangely, in front of this girl, all of that was suddenly lost, and she sat, blinking and staring blankly at her like an idiot.

"So, did you get anything?" Anna asked, trying to make conversation, which Elsa was thankful for.

"N-no, I usually eat at home. I mean, I cook for myself most of the time."

"Ah, I see."

Anna settled back against the seat and started peeling off her light tan jacket. She revealed a tight fitting baseball T-shirt with green sleeves, and suddenly a strong, unknown force pulled Elsa's gaze straight to Anna's chest area. It seemed like the shirt was specifically designed to make _that _area stand out or something, because _they _sure did look good.

_Wait, what?!_

"It's warm in here isn't it?" Anna asked as she set aside the jacket on top of her messenger bag.

"Mmhmm," Elsa murmured into her mug, her cheeks flushing hot. This was already going just, so, so badly. She couldn't think straight, and she couldn't control her behaviors and mannerisms like she usually could. She was acting like an idiot, and to top it all off the first thing she did was stare at the girl's breasts. Her _sister's_ breasts.

Hands still sweaty and a bit shaky, she set the mug down to desperately pry the thought out of her head. "So, I guess, are we... sisters? How did, I mean, how..." Elsa trailed off, not knowing how to phrase the thing.

"How did I find out, you mean?" Anna grinned, and there was something to it that put Elsa at ease. It was as if she knew Elsa was nervous, and she understood, and that it was okay.

Anna looked up at the clock hanging on the wall to her right. "Well, my parents kind of told me one day. Er...our parents I mean." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked back at Elsa with an apologetic look. It was a sensitive topic.

"It's okay, you can talk about them," Elsa replied, trying to mask any hint that she might be upset. "I don't even really know them. It was such a long time ago that I barely remember them. Don't even worry about it, you don't have feel...bad or anything." She was relieved to find some of the discomfort fade from Anna's face as she perked up.

"Yea, I mean. I was as surprised as you were, probably. And, I just had to know. I had to know who you were. Being an only child sucks, you know that?" But just as she said it, her eyebrows lifted in astonishment as she realized what she had just said, and she sank back into the booth. "Oh I mean, god...sorry, I can be so dumb sometimes," she said as she looked down at her feet under the table.

Elsa tried to quickly recover for her. "Anna, really, don't feel bad. Growing up without parents is more fun than you think. I mean, yea I'll agree, being an only child probably sucks. Growing up by yourself, you don't have a mom or dad bossing you around, you grow up in a house surrounded by friends, and it's kind of nice being independent. You learn how to take care of yourself." They'd just met, and already she found herself wanting to protect this girl's feelings. Why? Was it because of this sister thing?

_Maybe I am her sister. I'm her older sister._

Anna looked up at her, looking somewhat relieved. She sat back up and folded her hands together on the table. "They want to talk to you, you know. Mom and dad want to meet with you. They miss you."

Elsa's insides contorted when she heard the words. She immediately knew that was out of the question. None of this was Anna's fault, so Anna was spared from her deep, suppressed anger and bitterness. She would never forgive her parents though. Never. How could they even think about meeting her? Weren't they ashamed? She tried to change the subject.

"So, I assume they've cleaned their act up? You turned out okay, it looks like."

Anna gave a hesitant smile. "Thanks? Yea they've cleaned up. Dad's working at a furniture store, and Mom's studying to get a realtor's license right now."

Elsa was fairly impressed, but couldn't help but feel resentful at the same time. It was bubbling inside her gut. She didn't quite understand it right now, so she pressed it down and ignored it.

"Good to hear they're doing okay," she lied. "You guys still living in the same place?"

"Yea, just thirty minutes from here, on the metro."

"I see."

They sat in silence for a while. Elsa looked to the kitchen, wondering when Anna's food would come.

"I thought about you a lot, you know," Anna said, breaking the silence. "It was kind of a hard process to find you. Nobody had a picture of you either, so I didn't even know what you looked like. But wow, you're really, really pretty. Like...super gorgeous," she said as she tucked her hair behind an ear.

Elsa quickly brought the mug to her face to hide her growing blush, and drank down the last bit of coffee. "Thanks, I guess," she said quietly as she brought the mug down to the side of the table for it to be refilled again.

"So what do you do?" Anna's asked, eyes suddenly shining with curiosity.

"I work at a internet provider company, human resources," Elsa said easily. She'd prepared the answer beforehand. It wasn't a total lie. "What about you?"

"Just taking a few classes at a community college. Not sure what I want to do yet, so I'm just taking some GE's."

"GE's?"

Anna nodded. "Yea, like, general electives? In college most people have to take a set of general classes besides courses for their major. You know, like basic science, math, English..."

College was never something Elsa had experienced. Getting a degree was useless to her now, of course, and she probably did a lot better financially now than most with one, but a small part of her wished she could experience college life.

"I see. So what classes are you taking now?"

"The next semester doesn't start until Monday."

Elsa nodded. She felt like she needed to give her some kind of, advice, or something. "I wish I'd gone to college. Uh...stay in school. Don't give up...on...your goals."

She mentally kicked herself for such a silly cliché, and Anna giggled. Her giggle was adorable, the way her face just lit up, and Elsa couldn't hold back a wide, sheepish grin. And suddenly, the air around them felt lighter, and some of the heavy tension felt like it was being lifted away.

The waitress eventually came with Anna's cheeseburger combo: a burger with thousand-island sauce smothered over it, with a side of thickly cut french fries, and a coke. Elsa didn't even want to think about how much saturated fats and the number of calories were held in that one meal. She gulped as she watched Anna pick up the heaping burger with her bare hands, and take a whopping bite. She chewed with her mouth closed, but Elsa could almost imagine every bit of the food being mushed to pieces in her mouth. She heard the onions and pickles being crushed between her teeth and the mealy, burger patty's oils probably being squished out as she chomped her teeth into it. Some thousand-island sauce was smeared on the side of her lip.

She bravely called it out, wondering if it was something an older sister would do. "Anna, you have some...little..." she gestured to her own lip to indicate where it was.

"Hmm?" Anna hummed with her mouth full, pointing her finger to the wrong side of her lip.

"No, other side."

"Hmm?" Anna asked again, chewing as she pointed much higher than where the smear was.

"No, lower."

She finished chewing. "Here?" She dropped her finger lower, but too low this time.

"No, higher..."

Anna passed over a napkin across the table. "Can you get it for me?" Anna leaned over the table, and automatically Elsa leaned back. She'd never been this close to Anna before, and suddenly her aura overwhelmed her. Her heart started thumping as she quickly picked up the napkin and carefully reached over to dab the spot, careful not to dab too hard. She glanced up for a moment at Anna's eyes, and her heart jumped when she saw them looking straight into her own. She shot her eyes down at the dab, but to her alarm, the same unknown force pulled her eyes to Anna's lips, which were perfectly small and plush. She forced her eyes down at the table, where she neatly folded up and placed the napkin. "Okay, you're good."

Anna sat back down and took another big bite. "Thanks," she said, mouth full. Elsa frowned when Anna left another thing of sauce on her face, but she dared not to mention it this time.

Flustered, Elsa called out to the waitress. "Waitress? More coffee please? No, actually-tea, this time?" More caffeine at this point was probably a bad idea.

And what was this? What was happening? Was this normal, what she was feeling for the girl right now? She wasn't sure, and she couldn't put her finger on it, for the girl in front of her was absorbing all of her immediate attention. She watched in awe as Anna hungrily chomped away at the burger, dipping a bunch of fries heavily in ketchup and stuffing them into her mouth.

Now up close and under good lighting, she noticed Anna's hair was more of a cute, carroty, reddish tinge. A light strawberry. The backwards baseball cap was fit snug over her head, with two braids dangling down from under it. Her cheeks were a healthy, light pink, and she had a delightful little nose. And her eyes. Her eyes were so unique. There wasn't a color to really explain them; they were turquoise, but also mixed with a light, dreamy blue-

_Wait, her eyes!?_

Suddenly Elsa's eyebrows shot up when she realized she was looking straight into Anna's round eyes, which were looking directly back at her. Anna had stopped in place, with her mouth over the burger as if she was about to take a bite. She pulled her mouth away from the burger without taking a bite and said, "You're staring."

Flustered again, Elsa apologized. "Oh god, sorry, I'm...it's just. I'm not used to having a sister."

Just then the waitress came with a small pot of hot water and mug with a Lipton tea bag already placed inside. "Thank you," Elsa muttered as she hastily poured the hot water into the mug. She hoped some of the rising condensation was blocking Anna's view of her flushing face.

She heard her take a bite and chew for a bit. "It's okay. If I had a picture of you I'd probably stare at you all day," she said, mouth full.

Elsa didn't know how to take that comment, so she just stared into the yellowing liquid as she steeped her tea bag up and down in the hot, steaming water.

_Say something!_

"I don't think we look that alike though, our hair's not even the same color." Elsa said, surprising herself at the statement. She looked up and saw Anna's face fall a little, and immediately regretted saying anything. How was she being so clueless right now? She considered herself an expert at knowing exactly what to say at the appropriate times when she interacted with people. But now? What the hell had come over her?

"B-but, our eyes are almost the same color, and our noses are kind of similar too I suppose," Elsa blurted out to recover. She was relieved when Anna smiled and perked right back up. "Yea I thought so too. And our lips...maybe our lips too?" Anna said, and Elsa felt Anna looking at her lips. She leaned back into the booth and as quickly as one could move a mug full of hot water, she brought it to her mouth to cover her lips.

_Shit!_

She jolted in pain when the burning liquid scorched her tongue; she hadn't waited long enough. Face scrunched up, Elsa quickly stuck her tongue out and fanned at it with her hand.

Apparently, this was very amusing, because Anna burst out laughing.

"What?" Elsa asked irritably, the tip of her tongue sizzling in pain. She waited for Anna to stop laughing.

"I dunno...it's just, you appear so prim and tidy. You're wearing like, such proper and fancy clothes, and yet...I dunno...you're kind of awkward and adorable."

In the car now on the way to the metro station, Elsa wasn't sure how many times she'd glanced over at Anna, but she couldn't help herself. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that there was somebody besides Kristoff in the passenger seat, or if it was the fact that she wanted to make sure Anna was comfortable. Or...she didn't know why. She just kept on doing it.

"Are you hot? Do you want me to turn up the AC?" she asked.

"No, seriously I'm fine," she replied with a small, polite smile. Their eyes met for a moment, and Elsa automatically shot her eyes back to the road.

"Why do you drive stick shift?" Anna asked as Elsa changed gears smoothly, resulting in only a slight bump.

She thought about it. "Hmm, I guess I like the sense of control."

Anna said, "Ahh I see," then looked out the window. And silence took over the car again.

The silence between them was, well, it wasn't uncomfortable. The car was full of this strange, buzzing energy. Some kind of connection between them was budding and blooming at that very moment, taking a shape, although it didn't quite know what kind of form, color or size yet. And both of them needed some silence to sit with and soak it in.

Elsa heard Anna tapping her boots together. Was she bored? Maybe some radio? But before she could ask, her body grew rigid as she saw Anna reach over and open the glove compartment in front of her. Elsa gripped the steering wheel tighter as she watched Anna start taking her neatly stacked papers and files out and curiously observing them.

"What's all this?" she asked, looking down at her insurance papers.

"I-it's nothing. Just car insurance, boring stuff. Now, if you could-" But she stopped as Anna pulled out and started to examine a small stack of her three, counterfeit driver's licenses, each one from a different state.

_Fuck!_

One hand still on the wheel, she grabbed the illegal I.D's out of her hands, threw them back into the glove compartment and shut it. "Uh...sorry...I just...I have things a certain way," she said, staring at the road in front of her.

She heard Anna giggle. "Alright."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Then, Anna asked a question that caught Elsa off guard, and she grew very tense.

"So, what do you _really _do?" Anna asked point-blank.

"What? What do you mean?" Elsa asked, trying to mask her nervousness.

"I mean, you have this freaking expensive car. I don't think a person working in "human resources" at a "cable company" can afford a matte white B.M.W.," she said, and she felt Anna peering over at her. Elsa couldn't get comfortable in her seat for some reason. "Well, I'm the manager. I'm a human resources manager. We get paid decent," she lied.

"And I dunno...but I think I just saw three different I.D.'s in there. What's that about?" Elsa's heart was pounding as her mind raced to try to think of something. "Uhm...uh...I-I've moved, a couple times...those are old." She glanced over quickly at Anna, who had on the most suspicious grin, not looking convinced at all by her lies.

"_Really, _is that so? And where'd you move from?"

_Shit._

She knew two of the states, Nevada and Washington, but she had completely forgotten where the third I.D. was from. She had more I.D.'s back at home, so the third one could be any state. She felt the pressure. "Nevada, Washington, and...Montana."

"Montana? You lived in Montana? For how long, and why Montana?" Anna was enjoying this. Elsa could feel it. She gritted her teeth. "Umm...I liked...nature, for a while."

Anna leaned in closer to her. "Can I see the I.D's again? I just wanna see what they look like." Anna would know that she was lying if she found out that the third I.D. wasn't in fact Montana.

"No."

"Why not? Please?"

"No! The pictures are bad..."

She looked over to see Anna giving her the cutest little smirk. "Aw don't worry, you couldn't possibly look-"

"Just, no, alright?"

_God she's so nosy! _

Anna crossed her arms and threw herself back into the chair. "Fine..."

Elsa glanced over to her, but found Anna still peering curiously over at her. She wasn't done. _Goddammit..._

"So what do you _really _do?"

"Alright, cut the shit. I work in human resources at a cable company, end of story." But she wasn't met with the reaction she was hoping for. Anna was giggling as she spoke. "What did Miss prim and proper just say? What was that word? _Shit?"_

Elsa cringed. _Good going you idiot. Already setting a great example for your younger sister._ "It just slipped out. It's a bad word...don't say it."

"How old do you think I am? I can say whatever I want. _Shit._"

"H-hey!" Elsa exclaimed, uncomfortable with her candor. "Don't talk like that...it's bad. And Anna laughed again. "I like you Elsa."

When they pulled into the metrolink station drop-off area, Anna pulled out a pen from her messenger bag, took Elsa's hand and started to scribble something on it. Elsa looked down in surprise, both at the fact that she was actually letting Anna scribble ink on her skin, and at the fact that this was their first time touching. She almost shuddered at the sensation of Anna gripping her firmly and the tickling of the pen against her palm.

"Just in case, here's my number again. Maybe you lost the piece of paper I gave you before, because I haven't gotten a call from you yet," she said as she finished writing. She looked straight into Elsa's eyes. "Call me, for real this time, okay?" And Elsa stared back wide-eyed, and nodded.

Anna gathered her things and pressed her snapback more securely on her head. She opened the door and turned around. "Thanks for the ride. Call me okay? Drive safe sis," and she gave a wave.

"Alright, you too."

_Ugh you_ _idiot!_

Anna giggled and closed the door, and Elsa watched as she made her way over to the entrance of the station. Anna turned around again to wave once more, and Elsa returned it eagerly.

"_Sis," _she whispered to herself. She couldn't help but let a wide, sheepish grin spread across her face. She looked down at the number on her palm and lightly traced the numbers with her fingers, trying to remember and relish her touch.

"_Sis."_

* * *

Running the lint roller across her arm, Elsa made sure there wasn't a single fleck on her white blazer. Because this meeting was more informal, considering its place and time, she thought it was appropriate that she wore dark blue jeans for the occasion. This was complemented with a black tank top and her finest white blazer that slimmed nicely around her waist. She slipped on a pair of black heels, and wrapped a gold bracelet around her wrist, matching her small, subtle, gold earrings. As the last touch, she reached over to a drawer full of different styled optical lenses. They weren't prescription glasses of course, but sometimes she wore them for certain occasions when looking intelligent and clever was desired. She picked one with dark, forest green frames, barely discernible from the color black, and tried them on. They'd do the trick.

Finished, she observed herself in the mirror and was satisfied with the result. It wasn't too strong of a look; the white contrasted with and alleviated some of the dark and masculine energy of her jeans and tank top. She made sure her outfits were appropriate for whomever she was meeting with, and today their client was some kind of gross playboy who insisted meeting at a strip club tonight. It was probably some kind of move to assert and affirm his maleness, to be doing business surrounded by women in nothing but bras and panties. So, Elsa was mindful to wear something that wouldn't be too overpowering and emasculating for their potentially insecure client tonight.

Walking out of her closet, she approached a dresser that came up to her waist, where a small, cloth sack was set open on top of it, empty. There was a large, oval mirror hanging above of it; that is, it looked like it was hanging. She reached under it on the right side, unclasped it, and swung open the mirror to the left, revealing an average sized safe that was embedded into the wall behind it. Elsa took the hanging lock and shoved in her key on the bottom, clicking it open. She pulled the lock off and set it down next to the sack. She opened the safe and saw her only two items: her small handgun, and cash. Stacks and stacks of $100 bills banded together. She started taking out a couple stacks and transferred them into the cloth sack. She needed ten banded stacks of $100 dollar bills.

_Eight...Nine..._

_DING~ DONG~_

She accidentally dropped the last stack to the floor as she spun around to look at the door. She froze in place again. _God damn it, who could it be?_ She wasn't expecting any visitors tonight. Elsa quickly picked up the fallen stack and slipped it into the sack and pulled the drawstring, closing the sack shut. She hurriedly opened the top drawer of the dresser and slid both the lock and sack into it, keeping them in there temporarily. She swung the safe shut, then the oval mirror over it, making a mental note to herself to lock the safe after she answered the door.

Annoyed, Elsa marched over to the door, her high heels loudly clicking beneath her. This had better be something good; she needed to leave for the meeting soon.

Opening the door slightly ajar, she peered through and was surprised to see that it was Anna. She dropped her shoulders.

"Anna?"

She seemed, different. She looked gloomy.

"Hi," she said quietly, "I got in a fight with mom. Can I sleepover tonight?"

Elsa blinked. A sleepover? Her, sleeping here? In her apartment? A person _sleeping_ here? She started mumbling incoherently. "Uhh...d-...sleep?...sleepover?"

She noticed Anna had a backpack slung around her shoulder this time, looking quite bulky. She was fiddling with her zipper again.

"Uhm...I actually have to go to a business meeting right now," Elsa finally got out.

Anna looked confused. "A business meeting? On a Saturday night?" Elsa knew she had good reason to be confused. It didn't sound right at all.

"It's a special meeting, with...other human resources managers."

Anna looked down at her watch. "At 9 PM on a Saturday night?"

Elsa groaned and shut the door on her. She slipped the off the chain and re-opened the door wider now, and grudgingly motioned for Anna to come in. Her face lit up, and she scrambled past Elsa into the apartment.

"Wow Elsa, jeez your place is nice!"

Her apartment was modern, with dark, oak hardwood floors with eggshell wallpaper and kitchen cabinets. Once you entered the apartment, you were facing the living room, where a sofa ensemble set was placed in front of a large, thin television monitor. Beyond this, past the television was the doorway to Elsa's master bedroom, with her walk-in closet and bathroom. The kitchen was on the right side of the front door. Anna started to walk in further, admiring the place.

"Shoes! Uh-can you take off your shoes?"

Anna looked down, and then scurried back to the door entrance. "Oops," she said as she kicked off her clunky boots. She took notice of Elsa's heels. "How come you get to wear your heels in here then?"

"Because these are clean." Elsa didn't want to explain the extent of just how clean they were, so she changed the subject. "So, you're sleeping over?"

Anna suddenly looked worried. "That's okay right? I promise I'm a clean person, I think," she said warily as she looked around the spotless apartment. Elsa felt uneasy about it. "Uhh...I dunno...ummm..."

"I promise I'll make it up to you somehow. We can order pizza later if you're hungry, and watch movies!"

"Uhh..."

"Please?"

Elsa tugged nervously at her braid. Would Anna be alright alone her? She was old enough...was there anything here Anna could find that could compromise her work? The safe? No, that was much too hidden for her to find.

_I guess, it would be okay?_

Continuing to play with her braid, Elsa spoke firmly. "Alright, you can sleepover, but I have to go to this meeting. I'll be back an hour or so before midnight. Stay here, and don't answer the door for anyone, alright?"

Anna cocked her head. "Hey...you wear glasses?"

Elsa remembered and reached up to touch them. "Oh no, these are for-" but she abruptly stopped herself. She almost forgot. "Shoot, I gotta go. Um, so you'll be alright, alone here for a couple hours?"

Anna strode over to the TV, dropped her backpack down on the ground, and threw herself on the couch. "Yea, I think I'll be fine. I can just watch some TV."

"K," Elsa quickly replied as she jogged over to her bedroom as fast as one could in heels. She stuffed the sack into her messenger bag, checked herself in the mirror one last time patting down a few loose hairs, and turned to head out.

As she passed Anna on the couch, she started to worry again. Would it be okay? Would she be hungry? "Are you hungry Anna? I have...food." But not really, she didn't. She had chicken breast, stocks of vegetables, brown rice, and all that. But nothing somebody like Anna could eat. "I have, er, if you get hu-"

"I'm not hungry, don't worry," Anna said with a smile. "But some ice cream would be nice."

Elsa collected her keys from the key bowl. "Ice cream, got it." She opened the door and turned back. "What kind of ice cream?"

"Chunky Monkey."

Elsa stopped. _What? _"I said ice cream, what kind of _ice cream?"_

Anna sat up and leaned against the cushions. "Yea, chunky monkey. Ben & Jerry's. You'll find it." Anna chuckled.

"Mmm...alright..." Elsa replied slowly. _Chunky monkey? Kids these days..._

Before she closed the door behind her, she stopped and whipped her head around. "No snooping in my things!"

Anna had already turned around and switched on the tv. "Alright alright! No snooping! See ya later," she called back without turning around.

"Bye," Elsa replied, but not quite loud enough for Anna to hear above the TV. She closed the door and locked it, a bit more firmly, not that it would make a difference. But she felt inclined to, since there was someone actually inside this time for the door to guard, to keep inside, safe. It was a strange, foreign feeling, feeling _protective _of someone.

She strutted down the hallway with her bag slung over her shoulder with the same, small goofy grin strewn across her face.

* * *

They sat down and pulled in their chairs as a woman in a revealing bunny outfit set down their drink selections. Kristoff got a simple beer, while Elsa ordered a dry martini with an olive.

The place was darkly lit, smelled of cigarette smoke, and was bustling with horny, over-aged men. Luckily, most of them were surrounded around the walkway stage, hooting and howling as strippers did their work, leaving Kristoff and Elsa somewhat isolated in the back corner. It was ideal for the exchange they were going to do soon.

"Where is this guy anyways? He's fucking late," Kristoff said as he took a swig of his beer. When it was needed, Kristoff knew how to clean up. He was wearing black dress pants and a red dress shirt, with his hair slightly gelled back.

"You trying to grow out a beard or something?" Elsa asked as she looked at his chin, which was a little more stubbly than usual. He looked over at her, and reached down to stroke his chin. "Yea, just a slight stubble. Nothing major. I'm thinking maybe Candice might like it."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Kristoff, you're not going to listen to me are you? Candice is no good for you. I'm gunna be honest...she's a gold digger."

Kristoff leaned back in his chair and stretched, letting a long whine escape. "I know, I know. I can't help myself. But she's my ideal woman. She's everything I ever wanted. So fucking hot."

"Is she letting you call yourself her boyfriend yet?"

Kristoff frowned. "No," he said flatly. "She's stubborn. She says she's afraid of commitment or something...doesn't like labels."

Elsa sighed, and raised her martini glass to take a sip.

Just then, they both saw a slightly overweight, bald man with a mustache walking over to them, but stopping momentarily to slap a waitress on the ass, who returned a sharp, angry look.

"That's him," Kristoff said, getting up, and Elsa followed, setting down her martini glass and standing up to greet him.

"Hey, how ya doin?" he bellowed at them, shaking Kristoff's hand first. He peered over at Elsa in a way she did not appreciate. A chill ran up her spine. "And who's this fine, young lady over here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kristoff cleared his throat. "This is Elsa, my partner. Elsa, meet Ronald." Elsa stiffly stuck out her hand, embracing herself for the touch. She _hated_ touching strangers, and she worked extra hard not to wince when he took his grubby hand and pulled it to his mouth and kissed it. She tensed when he felt his mustache hairs prickle against her fine skin. How she wished she could pull away, but she stayed and held her hand firm, and prayed for the meeting to be over already.

"Hi, nice to meet you," she said as sweetly as she could. She was relieved when he finally dropped her hand and took a seat, and they followed.

"Get me a beer!" he bellowed to nobody in particular. He turned his attention to them now, leaning in over the table. "Alright alright alright. Great night, some fine ass ladies in here tonight eh?" He glanced over at Elsa.

"Yup," Kristoff replied quickly. "You wanna get right to it?"

Ronald grinned, revealing his yellowing teeth. "Let's get to it then."

Kristoff turned his body towards Elsa, who did most of the negotiating during the big deals. But Ronald kept his gaze and body posture focused on Kristoff, expecting him to continue.

Elsa cleared her throat and folded her hands on the table. "So, Ronald, you brought the diamonds?" He lifted an eyebrow to indicate his surprise. "Why yes sweetheart, you wanna see the pretty diamonds?" Kristoff shifted in his chair, giving Elsa an uncomfortable look. She took a deep breath, and pressed on with her act, forcing on a smile.

"No it's alright, I trust you." She reached down into her messenger bag and pulled out the sack, dropping it onto the table. "One-hundred grand, just like we promised." Ronald reached over and pulled the sack into his lap. He pulled open the drawstring and peered inside, then pulled it closed. He then reached into his pocket and tossed at them a small veldt bag, which Elsa picked up and gave to Kristoff to confirm the contents. He took a quick look inside, picked a single diamond out, studied it for a second, then turned and nodded at Elsa.

"Alright, we have a deal?" Elsa asked, and Ronald clapped his hand once. "Yep! Deal. Easy peasy money easy, just like that! Enjoy your diamonds kids." He turned and looked to the walkway, which was now being showered down in some kind of confetti glitter and a girl was winding her way around a strip pole. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gunna enjoy myself some strippers." He shot Elsa another creepy look. "You wanna come with me honey? You can sit on my lap," he snickered. Elsa felt her fist ball up under the table.

"Kristoff and I are going to go now, but enjoy the show. We'll see you sometime in the future, maybe."

"You got it, see you kids later. Good doin' business with ya. Where's my beer goddammit?" He rose with the sack and headed towards the walkway.

Elsa unclenched, and she felt Kristoff release a breath he'd been holding. "Elsa, man, I'm sorry. I don't know how you do it," he said as he took a swig of his beer.

"Let's go higher. Four-hundred," she said coolly, and Kristoff nearly spit out the beer. "What?! Are you serious? Four-hundred thousand dollars?!"

She eyed Ronald who was now at the walkway, trying to stuff a bill into the stripper's g-string. "Yea. We can pull four hundred with this guy." She was going to take as much from Ronald as she could. She picked up the martini and downed it, then picked up the toothpick and sank her teeth into the olive, sliding it off the toothpick to have it drop into her mouth.

"You're the boss," Kristoff said, and he tilted his beer towards her to acknowledge her gutsiness.

They'd been ripped off this time, and they knew it. Ronald had made a huge profit today, but this wasn't the end of the swindle. His confidence and trust in them will have increased from his success today, and the next time they met, Kristoff and Elsa would offer a higher price in exchange for more diamonds; four-hundred thousand dollars worth to be exact, which he'd greedily take. They'd offer him the cash in a briefcase this next time, and when he wasn't looking, they'd switch it out with another briefcase quickly before he left with it. Kristoff and Elsa would then walk home with both his diamonds and their money.

"So, you alright with just giving up one-hundred thou, just like that?" Kristoff asked, eyeing Elsa.

She looked at him. "Gotta spend money to make money. And, we have these diamonds too. You can keep them. A little present from me to thank you for finding this guy. You're right, he's a fish in a barrel."

She was much more well-off than Kristoff, having started in the business earlier than him. She also got more of the cut sometimes, because she did most of the work, which Kristoff was completely fine with because he knew it.

"Gee, thanks Elsa. I needed this too, I got some payments and shit...and Candice of course," he said, stuffing the bag of diamonds into his pocket.

They got up and started making their way out, making sure to give Ronald a smile and a wave before they headed out. "Make sure you keep this guy in contact, don't lose him," she murmured into his ear as she waved. "Call him tomorrow, and let me know if he's down for another deal." Kristoff nodded, and they pushed open the door and breathed in the fresh, cold air of the night.

Later that night, Elsa found herself staring at what seemed like an endless array of ice cream options. It was an unfamiliar area to her, the ice cream aisle, or the frozen aisle in general. As she slowly walked down the walkway scanning the different brands, she shivered and wrapped her hands around her arms.

_Where's the damn thing?_

Finally, she saw the "Ben & Jerry's" brand start to appear, and stopped to lean in closer to find the specific kind.

_Odd names...Americone Dream, Chocolate Therapy, Chubby Hubby..._What happened to all the normal ice cream flavors like simple strawberry or vanilla?

Then, she saw it. _Chunky Monkey_. She opened the glass door and reached in quickly for the pint as the cold, frosty air swirled in around her. The door thudded as it closed and she started walking to the front to purchase the thing. Curious, she brought it the small tub closer to her face.

"_Banana Ice Cream with Fudge Chunks and Walnuts."_

Peculiar. She supposed Anna liked this stuff. She couldn't help but turn to the nutritional facts, and she gasped.

_28 grams of sugar in half a cup!? My god..._

Would Anna still be functional after all that sugar in her system? This was _not _good for her. Seeing how she ate that burger, she had a feeling Anna would eat much more than just half a cup in a sitting. As she turned the corner out of the frozen food aisle, she was suddenly overcome with a warm, fuzzy feeling. What an odd feeling, to have somebody waiting for her at home. Somebody was depending on her to bring some ice cream home. Anna would be happy to see her, and she'd be grateful that she'd brought her ice cream. Again, a goofy grin started to form.

Elsa took her place at the back of the short line; there weren't that many people grocery shopping this late at night. There were only two customers in front of her: a couple buying some alcohol, and an older woman buying some milk and bananas. Elsa was surprised when she saw who the cashier was. It was April.

Elsa liked routine, which meant she only went to this one grocery store, which happened to run twenty-four hours a day. She also liked to buy the same things usually, and her shopping list was pretty established. And when she checked out, she would always find and check out with the same cashier: April.

April was neat. She looked a bit older, a bit taller than Elsa. She was skinny and smooth, with long, silky black hair that came down just below her shoulders. She was trying to grow out her bangs, and Elsa noticed she would sometimes try to curl them behind her ears, but they were never long enough, so they would fall and cover some of her eyes. Everything about her seemed small and apologetic; small mouth, small nose, neatly shaped eyebrows. But it was her eyes that struck Elsa the most. Her large, hazel brown eyes, would always pierce straight through Elsa and seemingly see straight past her façade she would always put on in public. It made her feel intimidated and vulnerable. But they were also kind, and...understanding almost, although they'd never actually had a real conversation. Just "please" and "thank you" most times, with awkward glances from Elsa here and there. As opposed to most grocery store cashiers that worked there, April always wore a white dress shirt and a slim black tie underneath with black jeans, which Elsa liked. Simple and neat. She had a thing of keys always hanging on her front belt loop that jingled whenever she moved.

April would give the small, smile to most customers, just to be polite. But when Elsa would come around, it seemed like April would give her a different kind of smile. Her face would light up a little, and although she'd only still smile with her lips, it would be genuine and warm.

Suddenly, it was Elsa's turn, and she stared down at the tub of ice cream.

"Hi, how're you doing tonight?" April asked in her soft voice.

Elsa swallowed and pried her eyes up. April seemed to be beaming behind that small smile of hers.

"Good," Elsa replied. That was usually the extent of their conversations, with the "please" and "thank you" and the end of the encounter.

She watched April run the tub through the scanner. "Special night tonight?" Surprised, Elsa looked up at April, who wore a curious expression.

"Um, what?" Elsa felt a flush start to creep up. April usually didn't ask questions like this.

"Well, you don't usually buy ice cream, or come at such an odd hour like this either," April said. She cocked her head slightly, still wondering about Elsa's purchase. The bangs that were tucked behind her ear fell and splayed across her forehead and slightly into her eyes.

"Oh, uh, I have a friend over," Elsa said quietly. Her fingers itched to brush the bangs away from over her eyes, but at the same time the look fit April somehow.

"Oh, I see. That's $5.69," April said, and Elsa handed over a ten dollar bill, which April gently took from Elsa's hand, and she turned to the register to fetch her change.

April was also the only cashier to ever give Elsa her change back on the small counter between them, where patrons usually signed their receipts. The first time Elsa had ever come into this grocery store, she'd winced slightly when April gave her the change directly; Elsa hated touching coins, especially pennies, and she wasn't comfortable with touching strangers either. At this point though, Elsa probably wouldn't have minded if April gave her change directly now. Nevertheless, ever since that first day, April would always place her change neatly on that little counter for Elsa, which Elsa would then slide into the front pouch of her bag to deal with later. And Elsa was always grateful.

"Here's your change," and like always, April placed the change on the counter, and Elsa slid the coins into her bag, and put the bills into her wallet. She looked up and gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks."

April shot her that rare, special grin. "You're welcome, Elsa. Have a good night."

_How'd she know my name?_

She pretended not to be surprised by it as she collected her plastic grocery bag and headed out the store.

Then, as she neared her car, she remembered that the last time she was here, she'd run out of cash and ended up using a debit card, which she tried to avoid using in general. The debit card had her name on it.

_Good memory..._Elsa thought. But maybe that wasn't the only case.

When she got home, Elsa found Anna sprawled out on the couch with the televisions still blaring and the lights all still on. How she was able to sleep like this, Elsa had no idea.

She put the ice cream into the freezer, fetched a blanket from her closet, and gently laid it over Anna, who stirred a bit but then curled up tight with the blanket.

Elsa stared down at the girl. Now, only the top of her face was sticking out from under the blanket, but that was enough for Elsa to just stand and stare. She'd never had anybody sleep over at her house before, and it was an odd feeling. Would she be cold at night? Was the couch comfortable enough? Should she wake her up to tell her to change into her pajamas? Did she even bring pajamas? Was that drool on her jaw going to reach the couch pillow?

And then, as Elsa looked down at the top of Anna's head for the first time, her cap on the coffee table, she was again hit with the fact that this person, sleeping in her living room, was her family, although she didn't understand what that meant. It was a bond that Elsa couldn't wrap her head around, but it felt nice. It felt _nice_ to have somebody find her apartment and couch comfortable and safe enough to sleep on. Somebody _depended_ on her. Anna needed her. At least for tonight.

She tucked Anna in one last time, and just in case she took a napkin and as gently as she could, wiped the drool from her jaw. She jumped when a sharp snort shot out from Anna's mouth, but she slowly relaxed when Anna smacked her lips in her sleep, mumbled something incoherent, and then gave a soft snore. Elsa beamed.

"_Sleep tight, sis."_


	4. Chapter 4

Every day of her world was the same.

Well...not lately.

That morning, after her ritual of exercising, showering, and cleansing, Elsa made not one, but two servings of breakfast. Anna was still knocked out on the sofa, so Elsa made sure to cook as quietly as possible. She wasn't sure what Anna would like, so she played it safe and made a traditional American breakfast of protein pancakes, organic scrambled eggs, nitrate-free bacon, with freshly squeezed orange juice.

She pushed the green pill through the packaging and threw it back into her throat. Wondering when she should wake up Anna, Elsa decided to take a quick trip to the bathroom to give her a little more time to sleep. 8am wasn't too early, was it? But it was always healthy to start the day early and on schedule, so she figured she'd at least try after she finished her business in the bathroom. She got to the door, but it was closed, so she just assumed it somehow closed on itself. As soon as she swung the bathroom door open, she suddenly heard a loud shriek, and Elsa yelled in shock when she saw a glimpse of Anna, half-naked, in the midst of pulling a shirt over her head.

"S-sorry!" Elsa yelled and slammed the door shut.

_Shit!_

Heart pounding in her ears, she peered over to the sofa outside and saw that it was empty. She hadn't noticed or heard Anna get up at all. Still a bit shaken, Elsa slowly made her way out to the kitchen. This was going to be tougher than she thought.

Elsa set up the breakfast plates on the kitchen island, pulled out two high stools from under the counter, sat herself down in one of them, and waited. She tried to shake the image of Anna's bare, slender waist out of her head. Her bra was green. Anna liked green.

She heard the faint flushing of the toilet, and she sat up straight as she heard the bathroom door open. Anna walked out into the living room in a new pair of clothes.

"Sorry about that," Elsa muttered, embarrassed.

"No worries, I just got startled, that's all. I probably should've locked it," Anna said brightly as she sat herself down next to Elsa. "What's this? she asked, looking down at the meal.

"Protein pancakes with eggs and bacon," Elsa replied, watching her nervously. She'd never prepared anybody food before.

"Hmm..." Anna picked up a fork and poked at the pancakes. "_Protein _pancakes?"

"Yea," Elsa replied. "They're better for your health."

Anna looked up at Elsa, then back down at the pancakes, and started to cut it with the side of her fork. She jabbed at a piece and stuffed it in her mouth, took a couple chews, then with a painful expression, swallowed it. "Ohmygod it tastes like rubber."

Elsa frowned. "But, it's good for you. Here, eat it with some of this syrup," and she slid over some honeyed blackberry syrup, which Anna looked at, but didn't take. "It's all so..._healthy."_

Elsa looked at her, confused. "Well, of course it's healthy. Don't you _want_ to eat healthy?"

Anna poked at her eggs. She took a small forkful and forced it into her mouth. When she finished it, she looked back at Elsa with a pained expression. "I want to eat what tastes good. Did you buy that ice cream, by the way?"

Didn't it taste good? If it was healthy, shouldn't that be enough incentive to eat something? Most of her home-cooked meals had much less sodium, preservatives, taste-enhancers, and such, which made all her food much less "tasty" than regular foods one would buy outside. But she preferred it that way. "Uhh...yea but-"

Anna immediately got up and made her way over to the fridge, pulled out the pint and brought it with her, and sat herself down. She swung her legs playfully as she opened it and jammed her fork in, lodging loose a chunk of frozen ice cream.

"Um...uhh...shouldn't you eat your breakfast first?" Elsa asked tentatively. She watched Anna happily eat the forkful, and then jam her fork in again.

"I'll eat this," Anna stated decisively.

Elsa gnawed her lower lip. That wasn't good for her, at all, and first thing in the morning too. Being an older sister was already so hard. She was about to protest when she was startled by five loud knocks at the door.

_Kristoff._

"Just, stay here alright? Stay..." and she held out her hands as if Anna were a dog. But she realized this and quickly put her hands down. She didn't know how to do this...sister thing. Fork in her mouth, Anna nodded and watched Elsa make her way to the door. Since the kitchen was immediately right of the door, Anna wouldn't be able to see Kristoff from where she was sitting.

Elsa unlocked and slid the chain off the door, and before Kristoff could say anything she slipped out into the hallway, closing the door quietly behind her. Kristoff looked at her strangely. "What, you got someone sleeping in there? Ohmygod, did you finally get laid!? Who is she!?"

"Shhh!" Elsa irritably put a finger up to his lips. "Why are you here?"

He pulled his lips back from her finger. "He's in Elsa. Ronald's already in. God this is gunna be such a big one for us. I got you a smoothie to celebrate," he whispered excitedly as he handed her the smoothie.

Just then, Elsa heard the door creak open behind her, and panic shot through her body as she spun around and saw Anna's eyes peeking through.

"I told you to stay!" Elsa pressed her finger against Anna's forehead, pushing her away from the door, eliciting an annoyed "heyy..." from Anna as she closed the door in her face. She clenched the door handle behind her back to prevent it from turning again.

"Dude is that who you slept with? Not bad, she's cute!"

Shocked, Elsa smacked him on the arm. "Kristoff stop! Just...just...did you schedule the meeting then?"

"Yea, it's in a week or two. I'll e-mail you the details. Here, take the damn smoothie. I know you're a health nut so I got you something healthy, " and he handed over the smoothie again. Elsa was sure it was packed full of sugar and preservatives, but she took it anyways. "Thanks," she muttered. "I have to go. I'll see you at the office tomorrow to talk about it, okay?"

"Alright, have fun with your girl," and he winked.

Elsa grumbled and watched him leave down the hall, and when he turned the corner she slipped back inside and locked the door.

As she threw the smoothie away she felt a pair of eyes on her, and saw Anna suspiciously watch her as she sat herself down next to her. Elsa glued her eyes down as she drizzled the syrup over her now cold pancakes and started to cut a small triangle.

"So, who was that?"

Elsa cringed. "A co-worker."

"How come you didn't want me to see him?"

"Cuz..." Elsa looked up at her, and noticed that she had broken the bacon into pieces and sprinkled them over the ice cream. "Anna, what in the world?"

Anna looked into the pint as if nothing was wrong. "What? Bacon and ice cream, wanna try?" Elsa gulped and felt a little queasy. "No, I'm good."

There was a moment of silence while Anna jabbed at a piece of bacon, lodged in within the prongs of the fork, then dug it further into the ice cream to gather a good chunk. She entered the combination into her mouth, and the fork came out clean. "Well, why'd he come?" she said, mouth full.

Elsa quickly brought up some pancake to her mouth, giving her some time to think of an answer. She chewed, and chewed, but couldn't think of a good answer. "Business," she said, vaguely. By the way Anna huffed out and continued to search her face, Elsa knew she wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"Tell me what you really do."

_Shit. _Elsa urgently cut another piece of rubbery pancake, daring not to look up at her, afraid Anna would be able to see even the smallest flicker of wavering strength. "Eat your eggs at least," she muttered.

Just then, Anna's cell phone rang from the sofa area, and she sprang from her seat to answer it.

"Hello? Oh, hi mom."

Elsa pretended to be fascinated by the small text imprinted on the side of the ice cream pint as she listened intently.

"No...no...at a friend's place. You don't know her. No...ugh fine! Yes I'm at Elsa's alright?"

Elsa froze. Anna's parents..._her _parents were thinking about her right at this moment. Elsa didn't know how to feel about that.

"Yes I'm coming back. I dunno when...sometime tonight. I _know _there's class tomorrow, god. No I wanna sleepover tonight again. No! Ugh fine...I'll come now. Yes I just told you I'll come by noon. Now goodbye..._goodbye_ mother."

She sighed as she swiped her screen and threw her phone over at her backpack. "My parents want me to come home today to get ready for school tomorrow, but I'll be back for dinner tomorrow. Is that cool?" she asked as she sat herself down.

"Yea, I suppose. What do you want for dinner tomorrow? I can cook for you."

Anna looked up in thought. "Hmm...how about spaghetti? Can't go wrong with that." she looked over at Elsa and grinned. "I should be back tomorrow around five, so we can go grocery shopping together and cook together too. Should be fun, right?"

Elsa nodded, and in that instant it hit her. She felt light as a feather, as if she could take on the world, and all of a sudden no challenge was too great. Their relationship was an undiscovered territory; intimidating and unfamiliar, but already Elsa was drawn, pulled in by her magnetic appeal, her fascination flowering and growing every minute with her. She was floating, because she knew from then on, her world would revolve around this new girl named Anna. Because Anna wanted to come back to the apartment and spend more time here. Because it meant Anna _liked_ it here. Because it meant Anna liked her, too_._

* * *

"_Hey sis, it's me, Anna. Just wanted to say hi...umm...I had calculus and biology today, gross. I think I can handle calculus, but I suck at memorizing so you might need to help me with bio. K, well, I'll come by later today around five. We're eating dinner together today right? Better not bail on me. K, see you later, bye!"_

Elsa pressed 1 again to repeat the message, unable to wipe the wide grin strewn across her face.

"_Hey sis, it's me, Anna. Just wanted to say hi..."_

"Elsa, I'm gunna go to the Rychel's residence, but if it rains I'm heading back. It looks like it might rain today...why are you smiling like that? What are you listening to anyways?" Kristoff, in his I.T. uniform looked strangely over at Elsa.

"Anna left me a message," she said distractedly, turning her swivel chair around so she could hide her unrelenting smile and listen in peace. She tucked up her knees onto the chair.

Kristoff chuckled. "Maybe having a sister isn't so bad, eh? Alright I'm headin' out. See ya." But Elsa wasn't paying attention, for she was under a spell, _her _spell, Anna's voice wrapping itself around her like a warm blanket.

"_We're eating dinner together today right? Better not bail on me. K, see you later, bye!"_

Without any hesitation she pressed 1 again.

"_Hey sis, it's me..."_

* * *

"Are you _sure_? There's barely any ingredients in there. When I said spaghetti I meant like, pasta, not just noodles and tomatoes." Elsa and Anna were waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store, with Anna doubtfully peering into their shopping basket. They'd only picked out a few items. She had the rest of the ingredients home.

"You're lucky we're even eating noodles," Elsa replied. She usually used spaghetti squash as noodles when she made spaghetti for herself. She heard Anna sigh. "Yea, _whole wheat_ pasta. If this tastes bad, we're ordering pizza."

It was a busy night, with people just getting of work stopping by to do their grocery shopping. Mostly all of the checkout stations were occupied, and it took Elsa a while, but she found April and was now assuredly standing in her line.

She saw Anna roam over to the checkout station next to them, and she waved for Elsa to come over. "Elsa, this one's shorter." Elsa shook her head and peered down the line to see April busily scanning some cans. "No, this one's good."

"What? What do you mean? This one's so much shorter."

"No, this one's better."

Anna slowly came over and followed Elsa's gaze to the checkout girl. She stopped for a moment, then looked back at Elsa, who kept looking ahead at April. Not saying anything, Anna took her place next to Elsa and waited in silence.

Later that night Elsa's kitchen was warm and buzzing with activity. A pot of water boiling noodles, a pan of garlic, onion, and tomatoes sizzling, Elsa busily shredding fresh basil leaves, and Anna grating a block of parmesan cheese, with Anna's choice of EDM music blaring in the background.

Elsa had tried to endure the noise, but when suddenly the music started to get really obnoxious, she turned to Anna to ask to change it, but when she turned, she grew tense. Anna was dancing wildly next to the stove. "A-anna, that's not safe..." but her voice diminished under the music, and she felt herself gradually being pulled away, tethered to Anna's free spirit. She couldn't help but watch Anna bend and twist her body excitedly to the music, her feet hitting the ground perfectly on cue with the beat.

_Wow, she's a great dancer. _Shuffling, skidding, rolling her body, it was all so mesmerizing. _She's really flexible too._

Elsa gasped when the metal lid of the boiling pot started to clatter noisily and bubbles started to ooze out of the sides.

"I got it!" Anna called.

Before Elsa realized it, both of them had reached for the lid at the same time, and Elsa ended up gripping Anna's fingers. Electricity shot up through her fingers, her arm, through her whole body. Elsa instantly pulled back. "O-ok, you good to drain it?"

Anna started to lift the pot full of piping hot water. Elsa felt wary, and reached out to help her, but Anna held it away from her. "Don't worry! I'm nearly nineteen I'm a big girl!" Elsa precariously watched Anna drain the water and noodles into the strainer in the sink, and hot steam rose and swirled up around Anna. Elsa looked away and busied herself with the basil leaves, which were already done.

With all the ingredients cooked, they prepared their plates and sprinkled the parmesan on top of their spaghetti. It was healthy spaghetti, without all the artificial colorings and flavors that usually came in those jars. Everything was wholesome and fresh, and would serve to nourish her younger sister's body. She set a fork down next to Anna's plate, and she watched apprehensively as Anna picked it up and curled her fork into the noodles. Anna lifted the fork up to Elsa, and said a quick "cheers." She took the noodles in, chewed for a while, then stopped midway, and her face darkened. "This tastes like rubber. We're ordering pizza."

It had already been an hour and the pizza hadn't arrived yet, and by then Elsa could tell her insulin level was low. The spaghetti was cold, it was past her routine dinnertime, and best of all Anna was drinking a beer she'd stolen from the grocery store in her messenger bag and she didn't know how to deal with it.

"Anna, give me the beer."

Anna defiantly took another swig, burping afterwards. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, a safe distance away from Elsa. "No. I'm basically twenty-one, and I'm much more mature than my peers. I deserve a good beer. I need to get the taste of that spaghetti out of my mouth."

Elsa scoffed. "You most certainly are _not _mature, and you're eighteen. You're just a baby. You're baby Anna," Elsa couldn't help but grin. "Baby Anna," she said again. It clicked; she liked it.

"Baby Anna give me the beer." She was returned with a pout from Anna. "No," and she took another swig. "You'll feel better after you've eaten. You're just hangry right now."

Elsa cocked an eyebrow. "Hangry? _Hangry?"_

Anna burped again. "Yea-you're _hangry. _Hungry and angry at the same time. So chill, let your sister have a beer."

Elsa slapped her hand to her forehead, just completely lost of what she should do. Her sister was drinking underage, and she had _stolen _it. Elsa strangely felt responsible. She was just a kid. It wasn't settling well with her, at all.

She looked over at Anna, who was clutching the bottle to her chest as she was texting someone. Observing the small bubbles rising in the bottle, she felt her throat tickle. Suddenly her mouth felt very parched and dry. Elsa let out a sigh, giving up.

Anna looked over at her, as if she knew. "Here, try some. When was the last time you had some nice, cold beer?"

Elsa took a step towards her. "No thanks, beer's gross. It has like, no nutritional value, at all. But before she could react, Anna marched over and brought the bottle up to Elsa's mouth.

"Anna! W-"

Elsa hesitated, but Anna had already started tilting the bottle and she had no choice but to open her mouth and let the cold, refreshing, fizzling liquid pour into her mouth. Their eyes met for a moment, and then Anna brought the bottle down when Elsa's mouth was full, not dripping even one drop.

Slightly surprised, Elsa swallowed it down and looked at Anna. "You've got a steady hand."

Anna opened her mouth to reply, but the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Anna piped, and she ran to the door and fiddled with the locks. She grabbed the pile of cash that had already been counted on the table by the door, paid the delivery guy, and happily walked back to the island with a large pizza box in her arms.

"Is Baby Anna happy now," Elsa said dryly as she watched Anna tear off a piece with her teeth. Anna nodded contently, chewing, and Elsa caught herself with that goofy grin again.

_Finally, time to eat. _Elsa took her cold plate and stuck it in the microwave to heat it up. After the microwaved dinged, she set her warmed plate down, settled down next to Anna and finally took a bite of her spaghetti, but ended up spewing almost everything out when Anna asked a question.

"So, what's this 'Double Trouble Sex Toy' you have in your room, Elsa?"

Elsa sat and stared at her with strands of noodles hanging out from her mouth. She quickly grabbed at a napkin and tried to clean up the mess. Her face was growing hotter by the second.

Kristoff had given her the thing as a gag gift one time, and she had no idea where to put the box, so she figured the most appropriate place was in her nightstand next to her bed. She put it away in the bottom drawer, out of sight, out of mind and never thought anything of it until now. It struck Elsa that Anna had been snooping, and she furiously whipped her head towards her. "You've been snooping!"

Anna shrugged her shoulders. "What else was I supposed to do while you were gone? Nothing good was on," and she took another bite of her pizza, like it was the most casual conversation. "The packaging was real nice. 'Sanitized and ready to use', and it came with lube." Anna's eyes were twinkling.

Elsa's cheeks were hot. "T-that was a stupid gift from Kristoff! H-he gave it to me as a joke! And what the hell were you doing in my drawers? In my room!?"

Anna swung her legs back and forth under the island counter. "So, the way it's curved like that...does that mean both girls get some at the same time? Huh, I guess that's why it's called "double trouble'...makes sense I suppose, it's efficient," she said calmly.

Elsa was breathing heavily, her muscles tense. "Anna! I told you not to snoop! God you're so nosy!" She scowled.

Anna popped the last bit of crust into her mouth and opened the box for another slice, giggling. "That's what little sister's are for."

Later that evening after washing up, Elsa was finally curling up in her bed with a fashion magazine. It was always one of her goals to stay up to date in fashion; always stay a little bit ahead and on top of the game. A low rumble, and then rain started to patter against her window. A thunderstorm was coming, and she felt her skin tingling with anticipation. Elsa loved thunderstorms – how they railed, howled, and boomed angrily outside – and she would always be safe and warm inside her apartment. Snuggling in deeper, she pulled open the first page and got to studying.

About midway through the magazine, she felt a presence and peered over the magazine to find Anna wringing her hands at the doorway, and Elsa sat up. Anna didn't have any classes tomorrow, so her mother let her sleepover tonight. Lightly clothed in a white tank top and small green, jersey shorts, Anna continued to stand at the door. She looked very agitated.

"What's up? Can't go to sleep?" Elsa asked as she set down the magazine.

Anna tucked some hair behind her ear before she spoke. "Um, I'm not good with thunderstorms. Can I stay with you until it's over?" Embarrassed, she looked down at her feet.

This feeling. It was starting again. It was flickering inside of her. Anna _needed _her. Anna depended on her. Anna found her capable, and found comfort in her presence. Elsa reached out and patted the pillow next to her. "Come on in," she said smiling.

Anna's face lit up like the sun and she flung herself onto the bed, compelling Elsa to grip the mattress to hold herself steady. "Yayyy sleepover!" she cooed. Elsa turned away from her and laid on her side to continue to read the magazine. She heard Anna settle herself under the covers, and then felt rustling near her back and suddenly felt Anna's chin on her arm. "Watcha reading?"

Without saying anything, Elsa lifted the magazine slightly to show her. She felt Anna's breath as she exhaled sharply. "Boring..." and Anna retreated to her spot.

After a while, she heard Anna grow quiet. _Maybe she's finally sleeping. _She turned the pages quieter as not to disturb her, but was surprised when she heard Anna shift again towards her. Her voice was low as she spoke. "Hey Elsa, I...I'm sorry about the snooping I did. You're right, I probably shouldn't have done that," she said in a quiet, apologetic tone.

Surprised, Elsa turned her body and they now laid face to face on the bed. She set down the magazine in-between them. "Oh...um it's okay, I mean...I just like having things a certain way...and...well, I guess I just need to get used to having someone around."

Anna looked down at the edge of the blanket she was now wringing in her hands. "I just...I just wanted to know more about you," she looked up at Elsa, "and I still do. I want to know more about you."

Elsa looked at her, but stayed silent, unsure of what to say. But, suddenly it hit her. Anna was becoming somebody real. She wasn't just this tomboyish, rambunctious girl that did whatever she wanted. There was vulnerability. She had a life at home with her parents, friends that Elsa didn't know of, hobbies that she never even asked her about yet. Anna had fought with her mom, about what? Was it about her? There was a veil that Elsa wanted to lift off; she wanted to discover more of this mysterious girl.

Anna had untied her braids, and her wavy hair enveloped itself around her face, and her cheeks were pink. It was then that Elsa realized Anna was truly stunning. It was subtle though, the kind of appeal that you'd only realize after spending some time with the person, making it all the more striking. The realization crept up on her and threw her off guard a bit, but her eyes couldn't stop drinking her in.

Lighting crashed outside and crackled and shook the room, and Anna's body jerked in shock. She looked up at Elsa. She looked like she was about to cry. "C-can I hold your hand? Just until the storm is over."

Elsa raised her eyebrows in surprise, and before she could say anything Anna reached down and very slowly ran her fingers in-between Elsa's, and she wrapped her fingers tightly around her palm.

Startled, Elsa could do nothing but stare at the girl, who now had her eyes closed tightly as if she were trying to desperately shut out the swirling storm outside.

"You _are _just a baby aren't you. baby Anna," Elsa said softly. Anna simply nodded. Elsa wrapped her fingers around her small hand and held it. _I'm here for you._

* * *

Texting with Anna that week became the most important moments of her life. Regardless of if she was eating lunch, on the phone with a customer, cooking dinner, or about to go to sleep, she would always text Anna back. Anna wouldn't answer for a while occasionally-she had classes, Elsa understood-but for those agonizing minutes or hour Elsa would constantly check her phone, even though there wouldn't be a notification tone. But when she did hear it, it would be the most satisfying sound to her ears, and she'd almost squeal as she see a new incoming message light up on her cell phone.

Anna's mom wouldn't let her sleepover if she had classes the next day, so the soonest they'd be able to hang out was Friday. It was the longest week of Elsa's life. She didn't realize just how long a day could be. Mornings were the worst. Afternoon never came, and when it did, they'd stretch out for forever. Elsa would watch for the sun to set in oranges and reds, and finally it would be nighttime. And she would go to sleep as soon as possible for the next day to come.

And as the days passed in the week, they'd get to know each other better. One message at a time, one nugget of information after another. It was easier that way, Elsa thought, as she typed in her favorite foods into the textbox. It was a slow, gradual, getting to know each other. Safe and at a distance, texting allowing a little more boldness and openness from both of them in their answers.

After what seemed like eternity, it was finally Friday. But before anything, Elsa needed to go to see Dr. Ryan Wilcox for her damn pills.

"_You still have the spare key right?  
__Just let yourself in and I'll see you  
__at the apartment around five."_

Elsa pressed 'send' and waited for a reply. After a few short moments, she heard the familiar jingle and her inbox had one message, which she quickly opened and read.

_"Yea i have it dont worry.  
__C u later today :)"_

She smiled down at her phone, then opened the door to let herself into the gross, brown building.

"You look better than last time Elsa." Before she knew it she was already in the armchair getting psychoanalyzed again by Ryan. He was almost wearing the same thing as last week, except his wool coat was a greenish color. It made Elsa want to gag.

"Yea, well, last time I didn't have any medication, so..." she said dryly.

The doctor sat up in his chair. "So the new pills are working then?"

"Yea they seem to be."

"Any negative side effects?"

_You. _"No."

Silence. Elsa heard the clock in the room tick. He started writing something down on the pad, and every little scribble of his pen made her squirm. He looked up. "So, you're going to be here for an hour or so, whether we talk or not, so might as well just have a conversation. How was your day today?" He sat back and crossed his legs, and put pressed fingers into that stupid little v-shape.

"Good."

Silence.

"Any plans tonight?"

"I'm hanging out with my sister."

"You have a sister?"

"Yes."

"Younger? Older?"

"You guess," she challenged.

He looked at her and stroked his chin. "I'm going to guess, you're the older one."

_Damn it. _"Yea."

He gave a chuckle, and uncrossed his legs. "I have a younger sister too. They're a lot to handle, aren't they?"

Elsa was surprised to hear herself give a small chuckle. "Yea, they sure are." She suddenly had an urgent question. "Say, what do you do when you hang out with your younger sister, like, what do you guys do together." _Might as well make the hour with him useful._

He gave her a smile and looked up to the ceiling to think. "Well, we don't hang out that much anymore, but when we do we usually grab a meal together. She likes to take me shopping to give some variety to my wardrobe. I'm not sure, sometimes we'll just, watch a movie, grab some coffee and talk."

Why did it all seem so, daunting? It seemed like so much work. He looked at her and read her face. "Why, you're not close with your sister?"

She started to play with her braid, pondering if she should tell him the whole story. Well, it was confidential, wasn't it? Doctor-patient confidentiality or something. She cleared her throat. "Well, it's kind of a long story..." He waited with a warm expression, encouraging her to continue. And so, she told him about how her biological parents didn't actually abort her younger sister, and how Anna had suddenly become the most important thing in her life.

"How do you feel Elsa, that your parents gave you up but kept Anna?" She knew he'd ask a question like this.

She sat back all the way in the armchair now, and sighed. "Well, obviously it's not that great of a feeling, to know that they wanted one and not the other. But I'm over it, it doesn't bother me that much. I barely know them, or care about them, so..." He scribbled something on the pad, and without looking up he asked, "And how do you feel about Anna?"

She paused. "What do you mean?" He looked up and pushed up his glasses, securing them to his nose. "I mean, what are your feelings towards Anna?"

Elsa looked at him, confused. "Uhmm...she's my sister. So I feel...protective. I feel like I should be a good role model for her-"

"And given your occupation, the nature of your work, how do you feel about that?" he interrupted her. Elsa felt the end of her braid getting looser as she kept on nervously playing with it. She'd never thought about this before. But, he did have a point. What if Anna found out about who she really was, what kind of person she really was? She shook the thought out of her head.

"I haven't given it any thought because she won't find out about it."

"But what if she does?"

"She won't."

* * *

"_I want to know more about you."_

"Okay, repeat it back to me." Elsa and Kristoff were walking through the hallway in her apartment building. She'd decided to have Kristoff eat dinner with them so Anna could meet him. Because Anna had said she wanted to know more about her.

Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "God for like the hundredth time. My name's Kristoff and I'm just a human resources manager at Intercable, the internet provider company. I'm most definitely not a con artist and-" she smacked him on the arm.

"I swear if anything slips..."

"Don't worry! Nothing will slip. Is Anna at home?"

She started pulling out her keys from her bag. "Yea, I gave her a spare key and told her to wait for me." They got to Elsa door, and she quickly unlocked it and they both entered.

"Baby Anna, I'm home! And I brought a friend I want you to meet," she called out. Elsa walked into the living room and saw that Anna's backpack was on the couch, but Anna was nowhere to be seen. She called her name out again, but there was no reply.

"Hey, your shoes."

"What?" Elsa looked down and was surprised to find she'd walked right into her own apartment with her oxfords on. "Oh wow, I totally forgot." She jogged over to the door and slipped her feet out, and Kristoff slumped down onto her couch and put an arm up on the cushion. "So, I guess she's not here?"

Elsa whipped out her phone and dialed her number, but without even ringing she was met with Anna's voice mail. _"Hi it's Anna. Leave a message after the-" Beeep_. Elsa hung up.

"No I guess not. She's not picking up her cell phone either." Elsa started to gnaw her lower lip. Where the hell was she? Her things were here. Maybe she just stepped out? She nervously tapped the marble on her island counter with her fingers.

Kristoff turned on the TV. "Well, if she doesn't come in ten minutes, I'm outta here."

It had been five hours. Five excruciating hours, and Anna hadn't returned home. It was the most agonizing five hours of Elsa's life. She was wrought with worry, she'd popped another one of her pills, and she couldn't even eat her dinner because her stomach was in a tight, churning knot. She'd left a total of five messages in Anna's voicemail, one every hour. She felt completely unhinged; it was the familiar, spilling uncontrollability she so dreaded. Where the hell was she? What was the meaning of this? She said she'd be here! She imagined Anna's dead, cold body sprawled out somewhere in an alleyway. Should she call the police? File a missing person's report? God!

_Pull yourself together! _She hurried over to her bathroom, turned the faucet on and splashed her face with water. Turning off the faucet, she looked at herself in the mirror; it didn't look good. She tucked away some loose strands of hair and took a deep breath. Grabbing a hand towel, she patted her face try, but her ears perked suddenly, and she stopped. From the living room, she heard the faint sound of the front door opening. Her heart leaped out of her chest, and she jerked and marched through her room and into the living room, where she found Anna's back turned to her. She was locking the door. A wave of relief washed over her, and she wanted to hug and kiss the girl. She was never so happy to see that backwards baseball cap. Anna was finally back, safe in her apartment. But just as quickly as this feeling came, it disappeared and she was suddenly overcome with a raging fury she'd never felt in her entire life.

"Where the HELL have you been!?" she yelled, and Anna spun around, shocked.

Anna clapped her hand to her chest. "JESUS Elsa, you scared me!" They both stood there, staring at each other. Elsa was fuming.

"Well? Where the HELL were you?!" Elsa yelled angrily. "You said you'd be here for dinner? Why the hell haven't you been answering your cell phone? Do you know how worried I've been? I was just sick to my god damn stomach worried about you!"

Anna started nervously fiddling with her jacket zipper. "I was out! A-a-and my cell phone was out of batteries!" Anna croaked back.

"Out where?!"

"Just out, with some guy!"

The fire in Elsa's gut shot up and flared with a fiercer vengeance. "A guy? A _guy? _What _guy_? You need to tell me where you're going, a-and who with!"

Anna stared at her, eyebrows furrowing and mouth gaping open in disbelief. "A-are you being serious right now? Elsa..._seriously_? God, you're worse than mom!"

Elsa took a step back. She felt like she'd been slapped. It was too much; she couldn't deal with Anna right now. She spoke with a stony, firm voice. "Listen, Anna. I'm glad I met you, I really am. But I have a-a job, I have a partner that depends on me, I've got things a certain way. And I like it when things are set a certain way. S-so I think it's better, for you, most of all, if tomorrow morning I took you back home. I just can't...deal with you right now."

Maybe it was too harsh, because she saw Anna's eyes start to well up with tears. Anna angrily threw up her hands. "What the fuck did I do wrong? I j-just went out, god! I didn't even drink, I didn't get high, I didn't take any money from your stupid safe behind your mirror!"

Elsa's jaw dropped, and she stiffened. "W-what?"

Anna wiped away a tear from her cheek and crossed her arms across her chest. "Why the hell do you have a gun anyway?"

_FUCK._

Elsa started to feel herself unravel. She couldn't control her emotions. "ANNA. I _told _you NOT to go through my things! Don't you ever listen!?" and with that she stormed to her room to check the contents of her safe. She thrust open the top drawer, remembering that she'd slipped the lock in there the night of the deal. She cursed at herself under her breath for forgetting to lock it that night. She whipped open the mirror, then the safe door behind it and checked its contents. Everything was right where she'd left it, including the gun. Feeling relieved, she hung the lock over it and snapped it shut.

A pang of guilt hit her in the gut. Maybe she'd been too harsh. She turned around but her stomach dropped when she saw Anna lugging her backpack and going through the front door. Elsa ran after her.

"A-anna, wait!"

But Anna kept on marching down the hallway, and Elsa, barefooted, ran after her. "Anna, please!" She caught up to her and took her by the shoulders, and Anna angrily brushed her hands off. She stopped and turned around. "I get it alright! You don't want me here! That's fine, I've been fine by myself for eighteen years." She wiped another tear from her cheek and looked down at the floor. Elsa immediately regretted everything she'd said. She had made her younger sister cry, it was all her fault. She felt awful. "No, no Anna, I'm sorry. Forget everything I said, I didn't mean any of it." It was then that Elsa realized just how afraid she was of losing Anna.

"Bullshit. I'm just a huge burden right? I mean, you obviously don't want anything to do with me. You won't even introduce me to your "co-workers." And human resources managers always keep h-huge stacks of cash and guns in their homes, right? That's fine, you don't have to tell me what you really do, 'cuz I'm leaving. Isn't that what you want?"

"No, no that's not what I want," Elsa said softly as she brought up a hand and lightly gripped Anna's arm. She was relieved when Anna didn't pull away. "I-I'm sorry, I just...I suck at being an older sister. I'm still learning and I'm trying my best. Please stay, please?"

Anna's face had softened, but her face was still full of hurt. "Then how come you're so secretive around me? Like, you don't want me to know anything about you? It makes me feel unwelcome, like I'm intruding or something. And if I am, just let me know, and I'll get out of your hair."

Elsa wiped away a tear from Anna's face, and pulled her in for a hug. "No, I want you here." Anna was warm. This was the first time they'd hugged each other, and Elsa was overwhelmed. She breathed in her musky, tomboyish scent, and hugged her tighter. She never wanted Anna to cry again. She swore to herself to _never _hurt Anna again. Elsa didn't realize just how hurt Anna was by her actions, and her heart ached for her. "I'm so sorry Anna, I'm so, so sorry."

She pulled Anna away from her and brought up her hands to her shoulders, and looked intently into her wet eyes. "I'll tell you everything. We'll order pizza and I'll tell you everything okay? I promise."

And Elsa always kept her promises.


	5. Chapter 5

"No way, so you're like...a criminal?"

"No, a con artist. There's a difference."

They were sitting on the sofa eating pizza around the coffee table. Well, Anna was eating pizza. It was much past Elsa's dinnertime anyways, and she probably wouldn't have been able to digest anything, with her stomach still in a tight knot. She'd just told Anna what she did for a living, and was uncertain about how she'd react, and what that would mean for their relationship from now on. Anna was staring at her wide-eyed, half-eaten pizza in hand, sitting cross-legged on the couch, leaning in and listening to Elsa as if she were telling some kind of remarkable story.

"No fucking way..."

"Hey...watch your language..."

"So that guy that came the other day, he's your partner?"

Elsa leaned back into the sofa and fiddled with the tip of her braid. "Yea, Kristoff's my partner. He's kind of like my protégé."

Anna took another bite and chewed, eyes searching Elsa's face, as if she were still trying to make sense of the new information. She swallowed, then tossed the rest of her pizza onto the cardboard box and inched herself nearer to Elsa. "Teach me something."

Elsa gave a small laugh. "You're funny."

Anna pouted and grabbed Elsa's wrist within her two hands. "Come on, teach me something!"

Elsa looked down at her wrist in the girl's hand and quickly removed it, getting up to pour herself a cup of water that she really didn't need. "I'm not teaching you anything," Elsa said defiantly as she filled the cup from the kitchen.

Anna leaned against the cushions and frowned. "Why not?"

Elsa took a couple sips, giving her some time to think, then brought the cup down and said, "Because you're a bright, young, pretty young woman with a bright future ahead of you, and I'm not gunna screw that up."

Anna paused. "Really?"

Elsa cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"You think I'm pretty?" she asked as she tilted her head ever so slightly, tucking some hair behind her ear.

Elsa quickly brought the cup back up to her mouth and chugged the rest down. "Yea, pretty weird," Elsa shot back when she finished, placing the cup in the sink and reminding herself to wash it later. She headed back to the sofa and as soon as she sat down, Anna scooted up right beside her. "Teach me something, and I'll eat whatever you cook for me."

Elsa hesitated for a moment, but then firmly shook her head. "No. I'm not getting you into all this. You're going to go to college, get a degree, and live a healthy, normal life."

Sighing, Anna picked up the piece of pizza she'd dropped earlier and took a bite. Her gaze was fixed on the pizza in her hand, and Elsa knew her mind was thinking and churning and processing something, the coy little fox she was. Anna finally looked up at her, and Elsa was a little surprised to find her expression relaxed, as if she'd finally given up. "Fine, you don't have to teach me anything...for now. How about you just take a bite of this pizza. If you take a bite, then I'll eat whatever you make the next time you cook for me. Anything...I'll eat anything." She was smiling that sly little smile of hers. Elsa looked down at the half-eaten piece in Anna's grip, but still firmly shook her head again. "No."

Anna frowned, but wasn't deterred. She grabbed another slice and brought it up to Elsa's face. "Here, here's a fresh piece. Just one bite, that's it."

Elsa looked down at the cheese, the grease, the fat globules embedded in the pepperoni slices, and turned her head away. "No baby Anna, I will not eat the pizza," she said in a tight voice.

Disgruntled, Anna brought the piece down. "Elsa, have you even had pizza before? You know it tastes better than sex feels right..."

Elsa whipped her head towards the young girl. "A-and how do you know what sex feels like?!" She felt her cheeks growing warm. "Baby Anna, answer me! How do you know what..._it _feels like?"

Anna held back a smile and brought the pizza up closer to Elsa's mouth. "Elsa, I promise you, you won't regret taking this bite."

And suddenly, out of the blue, Anna broke out into a familiar Disney song, one of Elsa's favorites.

"I can show you the world~shining, shimmering, splendid." Anna got up and dropped her half-eaten slice onto the cardboard box but held onto the fresh slice as she dramatically started singing to Elsa, taking her hand and clutching it. "Tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?" Elsa just stared as Anna looked down at her with a cunning smile and her eyebrows cocked, as if she were truly asking her the question.

"I can open your eyes~ take you wonder by wonder." Elsa's eyes grew round as Anna pulled her up from the sofa and dragged her out into a more open area. "Over sideways and under on a magic carpet ride~ a whole new world!" She kept on pulling Elsa here and there, around the kitchen island, and Elsa had no choice but to be pulled along for the ride. "A new fantastic point of view." She gestured to the fresh piece of pizza in her hand that was supposedly for Elsa. "No one to tell us no or where to go, or say we're only dreaming~"

She stopped and looked at Elsa with eager, bright, glistening eyes, hoping for her to continue. Elsa rolled her eyes and gave in, holding back a smile. "A whole new world..." she sang quietly.

"You know the lyrics?!" Anna squeaked, her face lighting up.

"Yea, it's my favorite Disney movie, Aladdin." Elsa said, unsure of what she was getting herself into.

"Me too! Keep going!" Anna squealed in delight.

"A dazzling place I never knew..." Elsa paused and watched as Anna started to lift her own arm up over her head, indicating for her to take a twirl, and when Elsa didn't Anna stomped her feet excitedly and impatiently, so Elsa obliged and gave a reluctant and awkward twirl under Anna's arm while singing, "But when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear...that now I'm in a whole new world with y-" Elsa stopped and she tensed when Anna started to move the pizza closer to her mouth, and Elsa squealed and ran into her room with Anna chasing after her, singing Aladdin's part, "Now I'm in a whole new world with you!"

Elsa continued her line as she jumped up onto her bed, and Anna hopped up beside her. Both of them were really getting into the song now, giggling and beaming. "Unbelievable sights...indescribable feeling!~" Elsa hopped off her bed and ran onto her treadmill, "Soaring tumbling, freewheeling..." then ducked under the handrails and ran into her bathroom. "...through an endless diamond sky~ a whole new world!"

"Don't you dare close your eyes," Anna came in behind her and slipped her free hand over Elsa's eyes, and Elsa ducked under and away from her and leaned against the bathroom wall. "A hundred thousand things to see-"

"Hold your breath it gets better." Anna pushed her free hand against the wall by Elsa's head and blocked her with her body.

Elsa bashfully turned her head and looked away to the side, running her hand through her hair. "I'm like a shooting star, I've come so far, I can't go back to where I–"

"A whole new world~"

"Every turn a surprise-" she zoomed around Anna and ran out of the bathroom and into her room, and flung the doors open. She heard Anna behind her continue. "With new horizons to-"

"Every moment red letter~"

Now both on the balcony, Anna cornered her against the railing and they sang in harmony. "I'll chase them anywhere, there's time to spare~" Anna leaned in against Elsa, and Elsa squeezed out of her grip and went to the other corner. "Let me share this whole new world with you~"

Anna cornered her again and pressed her whole body against her, trapping her. "A whole new world," Anna brought the pizza up to Elsa's mouth. "A whole new world," Elsa repeated, swatting it away.

"That's where we'll be," Anna sang, her eyes falling from Elsa's eyes to her lips.

"That's where we'll be," Elsa repeated softly, looking back at Anna's lips.

"A thrilling chase," Anna sang quieter, her eyes still looking at Elsa's lips.

"A wondrous place..."

There was a moment of silence as they both breathed heavily, trying to catch their breaths from all the chasing and running and dodging.

"For you and me~" they both harmonized together, and Anna leaned in closer against Elsa, bringing the pizza up again to Elsa's mouth as they finished their vibratos.

"Princess Elsa, please try the pizza, just one bite. It's a whole new world." Anna said softly, still staring at her lip, her body pressed into Elsa's.

And in that moment, the night breeze was cool and her sister was laughing and beaming, and the stars were glimmering above them, almost as bright as her sister's eyes. It felt perfect, just everything all at once. Elsa had never felt this alive with another person before, and exhilarated and in the moment, she closed her eyes and parted her lips. She felt the tip of the pizza enter her mouth, and she braced herself as she sunk her teeth into the cheese and the dough, and she bit off a piece. Her eyes still closed and mouth chewing, she felt Anna's warm breath against her cheek. "So how is it, my princess?"

Against her will, a small smile slowly formed as she finished and swallowed the bite. "Fine. I'll admit, it's not bad." She opened her eyes and was met with Anna's strong gaze. "See, I told you. A whole new freaking world, right?" To her relief, she backed up from Elsa, and finally Elsa relaxed. "Come on, let's go back to the living room and finish our dinner." Elsa nodded, and they both walked into the bedroom doors, with Elsa shutting the balcony doors neatly behind her. She couldn't help but smile and smack her lips to taste the last remnants of the bite in her mouth.

Because that pizza...it was the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted in her life.

Later that evening, Elsa curled into her bed with another fashion magazine, but barely got through the first couple ads when she felt Anna's presence at the door again. She peered over the top of the magazine. "Yes?" Anna was hugging her pillow against her chest this time.

"C-can I sleep with you again? I mean, the sofa is great, but..." She hugged the pillow tighter against her chest. "I really liked waking up next to you that one time."

Elsa just looked at her.

"I dunno, it felt nice."

Her heart fluttered in that strange way again. She wondered if that was normal. She wondered if it was normal for sisters to sleep together in the same bed. But she had to admit, it _was _nice waking up to Anna beside her.

Elsa looked over to the left side of her queen size bed, then back up at Anna, who took a step into the room but stopped, unsure if she was welcome or not. Without saying anything, Elsa sat up and pulled down the comforter next to her, and gave Anna a small, welcoming smile. And again, Anna squealed as her face lit up and she flung herself onto the bed, making Elsa's magazine fall to the floor.

Anna plopped her pillow onto the head of the bed and fluffed it up, then slid under the covers and turned, and turned again, as if she were a dog trying to find the perfect position before lying down. She finally settled under the covers and sighed contently, and Elsa looked back down at her magazine that she'd just picked up from the ground and covered up her adoring smile.

She turned a page, but couldn't bring her attention back to the material. Anna turned to her side to face Elsa. "So, you're really not gunna teach me anything?"

Keeping her eyes fixed on the white pantsuit on the page before her, Elsa shook her head. "Nope."

Anna didn't say anything, but Elsa still felt her eyes on her, and she was getting uncomfortable under that intense gaze of hers. She brought the magazine up closer to her face.

"Elsa...talk with me."

Elsa's heart skipped a beat. She turned and looked at Anna, who looked...sad almost. Her face was full of curiosity and desire. "You're so mysterious Elsa. I want to know more about you." Anna scooted closer to her and placed a hand on Elsa's, which was gripping the edge of the magazine. "Talk with your sister."

Elsa gulped. She knew something like this was bound to happen and had been dreading it. She wasn't one to talk much, to anyone about anything. She knew she would probably disappoint her younger sister; there wasn't much to her. Just a blank outline without nothing but anxiety, rules, and routine to fill it all in and keep it running smoothly. But she felt Anna's soft hand, gently tugging at her own, asking her to put the magazine down. So she obeyed, setting it down on her stomach and shifting her body, her focus, and attention to the young girl next to her.

Anna's eyebrows lifted, as if she was surprised almost, and she smiled warmly, scooting even closer. Elsa froze, not knowing what to do, what to say, or how to act. No movie prepared her for this. She quickly made a mental note to look up and watch as many movies about sisters as possible. She dug through her brain to try to think of something, but only one single prying question was swirling through her mind, and it found its way to the tip of her tongue, and before she knew it, it spilled out.

"So who was this guy you went out with?"

Anna gave a small snort, looking down at the mattress and tracing invisible patterns with her index finger. "He's a nobody. Name's Mike. I actually met him on an online dating site, and we've been chatting for a few weeks. He lives up north, two hours, and he said he was going to be in the city just for tonight, so I thought it'd just be some quick coffee." She looked up at Elsa with an apologetic look. "It wasn't just coffee. He actually took me to Santa Monica Pier, and he assumed it was gunna be some kind of huge date, and he wouldn't let me go until his whole plan was over." She sighed. "I'm so sorry Elsa. I would've called, but my phone died. God it was the worst date ever. And...I was thinking of being with you the whole time."

Looking down at Anna's finger making the little patterns, Elsa felt her spirits lifting. Anna didn't just flake and disregard her like Elsa had thought. Anna had been thinking of her the whole time, just like she had been for all those hours. She didn't know what to say.

"I-it's okay Anna." But suddenly, she was overcome with worry. Online dating site? Meeting a random guy? "Anna..an online dating site? That's dangerous...meeting a guy you barely know like that? And why?" She was sure her sister was attractive enough to have guys approach her from left and right.

Anna flopped onto her back and huffed out a breath, bringing her hand to her forehead.

Without her baseball cap on, Anna looked a lot more feminine, with her hair loose and undid, flowing around her shoulders and onto her chest. She was beautiful in all the unconscious and almost imperceptible, but remarkable ways, and to Elsa, Anna was foreign and exotic.

"When it comes to dating...and love...and guys...and all that...I dunno...I feel...empty? Is that the right word?" She threw her arm down and stared up at the ceiling. "I don't know what I'm looking for. I haven't felt anything for a guy yet. It's like I'm missing something, and I just don't know what. Like...sometimes I feel like there's something wrong with me." She turned her head and looked at Elsa. "Have you ever been in love before?" Her voice was slightly strained, like she was holding back an ache, her expression confused and frustrated, a side that of Anna Elsa had never seen before.

It was tickling to Elsa, all of this teenage angst, and she almost giggled. She was reminded that Anna was at the age where the quest for true love was at its peak. "No, I've never been in love. I mean, I've been in some relationships before, but I've never been in love." Anna turned her body towards Elsa again, her face lighting up. "Tell me about them. Tell me about your past relationships."

Elsa slightly drew her head back, unprepared of how to answer the question. All of them had been girls, and she wasn't sure how Anna would receive that. A nervous habit, she grabbed at her braid and started fiddling with it. Should she? No...but Anna seemed...no...not yet. Elsa just played it safe.

"Well, all my relationships were like...years and years ago. I haven't been one in years. But my last ex, he-..._his_ name was T..oby. I broke up with him because it just didn't work out...differences in values." She stopped, realizing that she'd actually broken up with all of her ex's. Anna leaned in closer. "And before that?"

And so she went on, trying to think of guy names on the spot and she briefly followed with a summary of why they didn't work out, with Anna listening intently. When she finished, Anna turned onto her back again and sighed. "At least you've been in relationships. I've never been in one. I...I seriously think something's wrong with me." She covered her eyes with her forearm, and Elsa wasn't sure if she was about to cry or not. She wanted to reach over and hug the poor girl. But she only allowed herself to lean in closer. "Baby Anna, you'll find somebody, you're still so young. I mean, anybody would be lucky to have you. You just have to wait for the right one to come along."

Without moving her arm from over her eyes, she spoke in low, raspy voice. "Thanks Elsa. But not really. I'm so messed up, and I don't even know what I want. I'm nothing compared to you. You're...you're freaking perfect. I mean, come on... you're seriously _perfect_."

Elsa chuckled at her sister's vast misunderstanding. "Baby Anna, I am far from perfect, you don't even know." And for a minute it was like she wasn't herself anymore; something inside her opened and the words just flooded out of her mouth. There was something about Anna that made her act different, made her feel bold and courageous. She wanted to be, for her. Elsa wanted to let her know that if she was able to find somebody, even with all of her imperfections, then Anna would surely have no problem of her own. And so she told Anna about her anxiety, her pills, and how everything needed to be a certain way. How she hated touching strangers, and hated being handed things for some reason, how she usually ate the same few things for most of the days, and she spilled and told her all the little things that made her squirm and uncomfortable. How sometimes she hated being a con artist, and that she wanted to live a normal life, but the thrill of it all kept her coming back for more. Maybe one day she'd go to college to get a degree, or settle down and start her own business, because she did have the money for it. But this was her life, and it was constant, steady, stable, and reliable, and there was no reason to change it. She told Anna about her first con, how she'd messed it up completely and had to literally run away, frightened for her dear life, but found herself laughing along with Anna who was giggling uncontrollably at the story. She told her about her most successful con with Kristoff, and Anna's eyes grew round and sparkled even in the dim lighting from the one lamp in the room. As she ran her hands through her hair, she confessed how she hated people sometimes, how greedy and selfish they were, and how on most days she just wanted to stay in her apartment for the whole week or month and just watch movies. She told her about how sometimes she hated waking up so early just to put herself through the agony of exercise, and how self-conscious she actually was about her appearances.

Because she wasn't this perfect thing Anna thought her to be. She was far from it. So flawed, so imperfect. Yet here her younger sister was, up so close near her, wanting to learn more about her for some reason. It was the way Anna was watching her as she spoke, the way her hooded eyes were just soaking Elsa in, gazing deep into her eyes, stopping at her cheeks, her lips, running along her hair and down her thick braid, trailing down to her hands that were clutched against her chest, with Anna's ears cherishing every single word that was spilling out of Elsa's mouth. It all made Elsa feel like it might be okay to feel vulnerable, just for a little bit.

Perhaps that was what made all the difference, because Anna opened up too.

She told Elsa about the guys she'd been chatting with, all the dates she'd been on, and how they'd left her feeling even emptier than before. How they just actually just wanted to hook up, or were complete douchebags, and many had left her with broken promises. In a gloomy voice, she explained how some of them were actually nice and considerate, but Anna always disappointing herself because she just wasn't interested.

And Anna talked about the unfulfilling parties she'd go to now and then, or how her friends were mostly all guys, and that she wanted more girl friends but it just never happened for some reason. How she and her friends would hang around in convenient store parking lots just skateboarding and sipping on slurpees. Anna was wild and different; all of the stories she told were spontaneous, things always done just because she'd felt like it. Like how they went to Malibu beach in the middle of the night, and the guys threw her into the water, but she pulled them in with her, and then they drove into the city to eat at a taco truck just in their bare minimums, hair sopping wet and skin rough with sea salt. How one of her friends confessed he had feelings for her once, and she didn't feel the same way, and how they didn't talk much anymore, and that she missed him. Anna lifted up her tight fitting tank top at one point during the night, revealing a scar just underneath her chest, bringing Elsa's hand up to it so she could feel the slight groove, meanwhile telling her about the time she and her friends had tried to climb up to the Hollywood sign but was unable to even get past the first line of fences. And Elsa got caught up in it all, pretending to play along like she knew all about it, just utterly fascinated by this girl's different world where routine was nonexistent. She dropped names and places Elsa had never heard or nor been to before, but she nodded anyways, smiling as Anna prattled on. Something in her, about her, with her carefree, lazy gait and adorable smile, her days never prearranged or planned out while Elsa's were always laid out and clear, intrigued her beyond belief.

And before they knew it, the lights had been turned off, and they still were talking, and it was three in the morning. Elsa was bursting from within; she'd never felt like this before, like her blank outline was being filled in with some color and substance. And as the words began to get sparse and Anna's breathing started to get heavy, Elsa watched her fall asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly with her soft breaths.

In those treasured moments, of watching her sister sleep, safe and sound beside her, Elsa knew something was changing, something she could sense even though she'd never felt like this before. The way when you step outside after a long summer and the wind is crisper, and there's that smell and nippy feeling in the air of fall approaching. It's instinctive, and you just know; you feel it in your skin and in the air. Something was changing.

* * *

It was the morning after and Elsa had just finished her routine of exercising and cleansing, not too surprised that Anna had snored and slept throughout the whole thing. In the bathroom now, she gurgled her mouthwash for a few seconds, swished it around, and then involuntarily spat it out when an apparently now awake Anna suddenly yanked open the bathroom door.

Wiping some mouthwash that had dribbling down her jaw with the back of her hand, Elsa cocked her eyebrow at the mirror reflection of the girl now leaned against the doorway, hands clutched together, with an eager expression on her face. "Please teach me something Elsa. I'm not as innocent as you think, you know."

Ignoring her request, Elsa turned on the faucet to wipe away the mouthwash from the back of her hand. "You know, a closed door means occupied, like...privacy...as in...do not enter..."

But Anna was squirming, too excited to even pay attention to anything she was saying. "Elsa _please _teach me something. I'm really not as innocent as you think I am. Like, I stole that beer, and I cheated on a test once..."

Elsa turned away from Anna and grabbed at the towel hanging behind her to wipe her mouth.

"And, I've done stuff...with boys."

Elsa froze, clutching the towel against her mouth.

"I've done stuff with boys..._and _girls..."

Elsa quickly brought the towel up to the rest of her face, pretending to wipe away from her forehead water that clearly wasn't there.

"And one time, it was with both."

Elsa jerked her face to the girl, who was now inching nearer to her, eyes twinkling. "Anna! Just...stop! I'm not teaching you anything!"

"Like this one time, me and this guy were making out in his room...and this girl just came in and sat down next to me...she started feeling me up...and I dunno, it felt good...so then we-"

"Anna! Stop! Fine! God! I'll teach you something!" Elsa blubbered and spat out, breathing heavily, her face flushed, still gripping the towel tightly within her grasp. She hurried over to the faucet and turned it on again to splash water onto her face, but before she could Anna squealed and threw herself around Elsa.

"Ahhhh! Oh my god really!? Elsa you're the best!" And before Elsa realized it, Anna planted a fat, wet kiss on her cheeck. "I promise I won't let you down!" And with that, she leaped out of the bathroom and zoomed all around the apartment, jumping in Elsa's bed, gliding across the hardwood floors in her socks, and jumping onto and bouncing on the sofa.

And Elsa just stood there, cursing at herself for giving in so easily, for having such lack of command of herself around the girl. Because she'd have to keep this promise. But as quickly as the cursed thoughts came, they left, and she just stood there looking down at the floor, fingers lightly touching her cheek with a shaky smile strewn across her face.

* * *

Saturday morning at the diner was a little more crowded than Elsa would've liked. They were sitting in the same booth in the far corner again, which Elsa was thankful for, but the place was swimming with people, and it was noisy and crowded. But she didn't have anything that Anna would like in her fridge, considering they'd already ran out of ice cream and bacon.

"And what would you lovely ladies like?" the waitress asked in a sprightly but rushed voice, pen and pad ready.

"Can I try your apple pie? With a glass of milk?"

"Anna...really? Apple pie for breakfast?" Elsa raised her eyebrows at her.

"What? It says 'California's Best'..." Anna said simply, handing the menu to the waitress.

The waitress chuckled. "And for you?" turning her body towards Elsa.

"Uh...umm can I have a veggie egg white omelet, very minimal oil, no cheese, and extra veggies?" It'd taken her a while to figure this one out. She rarely ate out.

"Egg white costs a little extra, is that alright?"

"Yea that's alright."

"Great, alright then your orders will be out soon. Thank you ladies. " She took Elsa's menu and left them at the booth.

Elsa gripped the warm mug full of fresh coffee between her hands and looked at Anna who leaned forward and rested her fists beneath her chin. "So, teach me your ways, Senpai."

Elsa cocked her eyebrow. "Senpai?"

"It means mentor in Japanese." Anna was beaming, just so excited to learn. Elsa sighed. "Okay first, stop with all these words you youths are using nowadays...hangry, senpai...whatever..."

"Okay fine, I'll use normal words. Now, teach me something!" Elsa couldn't help but grin at how excited Anna was. But at the same time, she had combating thoughts and emotions. She had to admit, it was extremely enthusing to welcome Anna into her world, to become her teacher in a way, taking her under her wing and having a new protégé. But at the same time, this is _not _what she wanted for Anna. She was definitely being an irresponsible older sister, and Anna's parents would _not _be happy with what she was about to teach her. But then again...

Anna was leaning forward, waiting for Elsa. And in that moment, Elsa decided..._screw Anna's parents. _Anna was here to have fun with her older sister. And that's exactly what she'd get.

"Okay." Elsa took a sip, and placed the mug to the side and folded her hands on the table. She took a deep breath, and looked at Anna intently in the eyes as she prepared to teach Anna her first lesson. "First, the basics. It's important to understand how humans work." Anna leaned in further and brought up a hand to her cheek and rested her face against it. Elsa went on. "Human interaction. Humans need it, they crave it and they want it, more than they know. Without it, people get sick. People _want_ social interaction. Period." Anna excitedly nodded her head, encouraging her to continue. But just then, the waitress came with Anna's apple pie and milk.

"Your omelette will be out shortly sweetie."

"Thank you."

Elsa stopped as Anna quickly dug her fork into and took a bite of her apple pie. "Mmmm! Elsa try this! This is fucking delicious!" She took a sip of her milk, and Elsa shook her head, "I'm fine, and watch your language." Anna dug her fork into the pie and held a piece of it up to Elsa, and Elsa leaned back and shook her head again. "I'm fine, thanks."

Anna shrugged. "Suit yourself," and she ate the forkful. "Keep going senpai," Anna said sweetly, mouth full. Elsa rolled her eyes and continued. "Okay, so...right. People desire human interaction. And people interact with other people because it makes them feel good. A lot of the times, when people help other people, it's because they want to feel good about it; they want to feel good about themselves. A lot of people are really greedy Anna, they're selfish, and they'll do things and are motivated by things that make themselves feel good."

Anna nodded, taking another mouthful of pie but her eyes never leaving Elsa. Elsa continued. "So most of the time, if you make yourself appear vulnerable, fragile and in need of help, other people will want to help you. And the key in a successful con is getting the person to trust you. So your job, then, is to offer the other person the opportunity to feel better about themselves while getting them to trust you at the same time."

Anna blinked, trying to absorb this. It wasn't the easiest concept to soak in...this intrinsic human greed. Anna was more innocent than she knew. She needed an example. Elsa looked to the floor and leaned over to pick up the small shard of glass that she'd been eyeing ever since they got seated. Before Anna could object, Elsa threw the shard into the middle, thick part of Anna's apple pie.

"Hey!" Anna exclaimed, upset. But Elsa just held up a finger to silence her. "Watch your sister work." Elsa saw the waitress come with her omelette.

"Here's your omelette," the waitress said as she placed the plate in front of Elsa. "Can I get you ladies anything else?"

Elsa put on her most pleasant expression, and said in the most bashful tone, "Thank you. Um, actually," she said slowly, pushing the plate of pie towards the waitress, "we found some glass in my younger sister's pie. I mean, it's not a big deal or anything, but we just wanted to let you and your staff know, so that maybe you can check the rest of the pie slices, just in case," and she smiled as sweetly as she could.

The waitress gasped and peered down at Anna's pie. "Oh my lord! I'm so sorry girls! I don't know how that happened! We'll give you a full refund for sure."

Elsa maintained her smile. "Oh don't worry about it. My sister Anna doesn't actually like pie very much, but I tried one from you guys the other day and I insisted she try it, and she loved it. She got enough of it to enjoy it today, so it's no problem."

The waitress looked back into the kitchen behind her. "Is that so? Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll apologize again, that pie is on the house. I'd better tell the cooks." And she hurried away with Anna's half-eaten slice.

Anna's eyes were wide, but she looked confused. "But now I don't have pie," she said, pouting.

"Just wait," Elsa said, picking up her fork to dig into her omelette.

And soon enough, the waitress came back with not just one, but two slices of freshly baked apple pie. Anna was elated, and the waitress apologized again, but smiled as she placed the two pieces down in front of them. "I hope you ladies will like these pieces, they're freshly baked. I'm glad we were able to change your mind about pie, Anna. Thanks for being such good sports about the glass girls." After being showered by both of them with thanks, the waitress happily walked away.

"Elsa! So much pie!" Anna cooed, digging her fork into the piping hot piece.

Elsa finished chewing the mushroom in her mouth. "Wow I wasn't expecting two slices. So did you see what I did?"

Anna looked up to her, still chewing. She stopped to take a drink of her milk, and she set it down and said, "Kind of?" Anna stopped eating her pie and looked at Elsa, who smiled and spoke in a low voice so nobody else could hear. "Okay, so first, I didn't get all angry or upset like some customers would. I made it seem like I wanted to help her, help their diner. So there's the trust. You have to convince the person to trust you, first and foremost."

She looked over to the waitress, who was busily doing something at the cash register. "Then, I made it personal. You never give your real name in a con, but in this case it's harmless. If you give details and make the person feel like they sort of know you, it's more personal to them, and they'll want to help someone they sort of feel they know more." She looked at Anna, whose eyes were growing wider as she spoke, and Elsa continued. "Lastly, you need to appear like you could use some help. You need to offer them to opportunity to help you, and most of the time, they'll take it. In this case, I told her that you don't usually like pie, but then this pie you actually liked. But you didn't get to finish it because of the glass, so what did she do? She came with more pie. Did you see how happy she was?"

A slow smile was forming, and it was just now hitting her, Elsa could see it. She dropped her fork and crossed her arms, impressed. "Wow, I didn't know all of that was behind something so simple as getting more pie..." she said thoughtfully.

This was nothing. This was child's play. Nevertheless, Elsa's whole body was buzzing with excited energy, and she wasn't hungry anymore. She wanted to show Anna more. "Come on baby Anna, finish that pie. You have a lot to learn."

They paid the bill, traveled down into the underground parking structure, hopped in Elsa's car, and made their way to a gas station first, for Elsa was almost out of gas. During the drive, Elsa educated her about her art, how con artist was short for "confidence artist," and that it was all about gaining the 'marks' or victim's trust and confidence in the con artist. A short con is a fast swindle and could take as little as a couple minutes, while longer cons could unfold over a matter of weeks or months. They never were to work anywhere near where they lived, and were never to reveal any personal information to anyone.

They drove to Malibu beach and pulled into a nearby gas station. Elsa circled around the gas pumps once, and when she found the perfect one, she parked and turned to face Anna. "Okay, before I get some gas, you have that watch you told me about?"

Anna nodded and she shot her hand down to her messenger bag, plunging it into the small opening and blindly digging around. She then pulled out a watch. "Why do you want this cheap old thing? I never wear it anymore."

"Perfect," Elsa said, taking it and studying it. She took her extra optical lens cleansing cloth from her glove compartment and polished it over, making it appear almost as good as new. She herself knew it couldn't be more than twenty dollars, but to the average eye it could look expensive.

This was going to be another small con, but it was better to start off small for Anna, her new protégé. "Okay, so you're going to help me with this one." Anna's face lit up, and she clapped her hands excitedly. "Ohhhhh my god! Ohhh my god I'm so freaggin excited okay tell me what to do."

"First, you're the 'shill.' That's what we call the accomplices who help the mark, or victim into accepting our plan."

Anna frowned. "Shill? I'm the _shill_? I don't like that name, it's so ugly. But nevermind, tell me what to do!"

Elsa chuckled, and brushed Anna's bangs from out of her eyes, surprising herself slightly of her boldness. Something about this dynamic, of teaching this highly boisterous and rowdy girl, and making her complaint and docile almost, eager to learn about the way of con artistry, it made Elsa feel...confident and self-assured, in a way. Elsa could have been any girl, someone brave and daring in front of Anna. There was something about this girl that made her feel different.

Elsa suddenly yanked her hand back, realizing she'd been brushing her bangs for a little longer than was needed. She cleared her throat and looked down at the watch. "So, you're going to make a call from the payphone over there," Elsa said, pointing to the old, aged, but still functioning payphone by the bus stop. Elsa told her exactly what to say, and who to call, and what time to call. She had her repeat everything back to her, making sure Anna had it all down. Then, they parted, with Anna leaving for the payphone and Elsa making her way into the gas station convenience store, holding the watch in her hand.

Once inside, she approached the counter and observed the mark. He was rather young, maybe still in high school, with messy hair and a lip piercing, chewing and popping his gum. Almost immediately she knew he'd take the bait; when money was involved, everybody usually did.

He didn't smile when she came up to him. "Hi," she said kindly, and he nodded once, looking down at the watch in her hand. "So I was just in the bathroom, and I found this watch. Has anybody asked for it? Looks pretty nice..."

The kid shook his head, but just then, the telephone rang behind him. "One sec," he said, turning around and cracking his gum once before answering it.

_Perfect, right on time. _

"Hello?" He paused for a moment, listening to the caller, and he turned around to look at Elsa and the watch. "Oh yea, actually, somebody just came up to the counter returning it...wow...yea I'll let her know. Okay, cool." He hung up, with his expression lightened a little bit. "So that was the owner of the watch, actually. Apparently it's really valuable to her and she's been looking for it, and she was offering a $200 dollar reward for it...must be an expensive watch." He looked down at the watch, and Elsa saw that tinge of jealousy, wishing he'd found it first. "So, she said she'd be here in 30 minutes with the cash. Lucky day for you, I guess," he said glumly.

Looking down at the face of the watch, Elsa sucked in some air between her teeth, pretending to sound disappointed. "Jeez, I really can't stay for that long. I actually have a job interview I need to get to..." She looked up at the kid, and saw his eyes start to get bigger. "Say, why I don't I give you the watch to give to the owner when she comes, and we can split the reward?"

He looked up at her, and he stopped chewing his gum. "Y-yea, umm...yea! I can do that. You can give me the watch to hold and I'll give you $100 bucks right now."

"That sounds perfect. I appreciate that, I really can't be late for my interview, and that's $100 bucks for you, right there."

The cashier nodded enthusiastically, and he quickly turned to the cash register and it dinged open, and he took out five $20 dollar bills and eagerly handed them over. Elsa placed the watch onto the counter and slid it over. "Awesome, thanks. Enjoy the reward," Elsa said as she folded the bills and clutched them in her fist as she walked out.

"Yea, you too!" He called out after her, the excitement apparent in his tone.

Smiling, Elsa walked over to the car and saw that Anna was already in the passenger seat, turned around and watching Elsa walk and open the door and get into the car. She was practically glowing when she leaned over and asked, "So? Did it work?"

Elsa took her hand and smacked the bills into Anna's palm, then wrapped her fingers around Anna's so that they wrapped around the bills. "Not bad for your first job, shrill. Here's your cut." Elsa couldn't help but beam as she looked at Anna stare down at the bills in her hands. She squealed. "Elsa! Oh my god, I can't even...what a fucking rush!"

Chuckling, Elsa playfully nudged the top of Anna's snapback so that it nestled more snugly onto her head. "Watch your language baby Anna. Okay, now tell me why this worked." Although the mechanics of it were simple, Elsa wanted to make sure Anna knew the basic psychology behind why it worked; it was important for her to know.

Anna looked into Elsa's eyes, trying to search for a good answer. "Umm...okay so you need to appear like you need some help, because most of the time people will want to help you if they can." Elsa nodded; the answer was good enough.

"Right. You need to make sure that they are capable of helping you. Generally, if they can't help you, like if the task is too big for them to handle and they don't think they can help, they won't help you. Because people will only try help you if they themselves feel like they'll get something out of it, which is the satisfaction of knowing they helped someone, the feeling of doing something good. The feeling of self-righteousness."

Anna smiled. "Yea, and you told him you needed to go to an interview. You made your problem personal."

"Yep. What else?"

"Umm...well..."

"Greed. Sometimes the feeling of being a superhero to save someone's day won't be enough. So greed will usually do the trick. $100 for him. Bam, he was in."

Eyes wide, Anna nodded slowly, just staring and listening quietly to what Elsa had to say. Elsa turned her head and looked to the opposite side of their gas pump; it was empty. She decided at that moment, she'd have Anna run her own con, with Elsa assisting her of course. Because she didn't want this rush of a roller coaster to stop anytime soon; she couldn't stop, not now. The thrill, even though these were just the basics, was intoxicating and she wanted more. She turned her head to Anna and spoke quickly. "Okay, you ready for your first big swindle?"

Anna stared back at her, mouth gaped open. "Really? You're gunna let me do something?"

Elsa nodded, and she suddenly felt Anna grab her hand and grip it tightly. Her hands were warm, her fingers slender. "Yes! Yes yes yes! I promise I won't let you down!"

This child's play was harmless; as long as she stayed out of the bigger, dangerous cons, Anna would be fine. She slipped her hand out of Anna's grip and quickly told Anna everything she had to do when the next person was to pull in to get gas next to them. She had Anna pull out the map from the glove compartment in front of her. Just then, a car started to pull up beside them on the opposite side of the pump.

She quickly turned her head towards Anna. "Okay, you got everything?"

Anna looked straight ahead with a small, eager smile, and she drew in a breath. "Yea, I'm ready."

"Alright, go get us some gas."

Anna opened the door and was about to step outside, but before Elsa knew it she leaned over and kissed Elsa on the cheek. "For luck," she whispered, smiling, and then she headed out, closing the door shut behind her.

Car silent now, heart rate quickening, Elsa reached up and touched the place on her cheek where Anna's lips had been. The spot was tingling, and her heart was soaring.

_Focus. This is her first one. Focus for her. _

Elsa sat up straight in her seat and watched Anna in the rear view mirror rounding the back of the car and spreading the map onto the back trunk. Anna looked up to give Elsa a small thumbs up as she waited for the man to exit his car to pump gas.

Unable to wipe the sheepish grin off her face, Elsa couldn't say what it was about Anna that made her feel this way. All she knew was that with Anna, her life now really did feel like a whole new world.

* * *

**a/n:** Don't worry, the next chapter will start off with Anna's first mission. Stay tuned!

-oikos

P.S. Sorry if the "A Whole New World" scene was too _cheesy _for you ;]


	6. Chapter 6

A cleanly shaved man in his early thirties wearing a grey, slim-fitting business suit with an aura of superiority stepped out from his sports car. On the opposite side of the gas pump, Elsa sat her car, inhaling deep breaths, questioning if Anna would be able to pull this off. Tense, Elsa watched as her younger sister approached the windshield squeegee canister that was attached to the side of gas pump with the road map clutched her hand.

_Here we go._

Elsa rolled down the window just a tad to hear the dialogue, observing Anna in the corner of her eye. She couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Watch out!"

Letting go of the windshield squeegee and having it fall back into the dirty water canister with a small splash, Anna quickly slapped the mark's hand as he was inserting his credit card into the gas pump. Surprised, he yanked his hand back, leaving the card in the slot.

"W-what?!" The man took a couple steps back, startled at being slapped by a complete stranger.

Anna had set the plan into motion; it was Elsa's cue to exit the car. She rolled up her window and stepped out of her vehicle, pulling down at the seams of her blouse to smooth it over. Making sure not to draw too much attention to herself, she stood on her side of the pump and pretended to look busy with her phone, still listening closely.

"Sorry sir, I saw a bug on your hand and I swatted it away. I'm sorry if that was too forward of me, I guess it was just instinctive," Anna said apologetically to the mark, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Uh..er...wow...I guess I should thank you then," the man said slowly, still a little stunned.

"Actually, if you're not too busy, do you mind helping me out? My name's Samantha. Me and my girlfriend are visiting from northern California, and we're a little lost."

Slightly shocked, Elsa shot her head up to see Anna looking at her, smiling that coy little smile of hers. _She was supposed to say we were friends!_ Elsa quickly looked down at her phone again, embarrassed, resenting Anna's departure on their agreed upon plan.

"Sure, how can I help you two?" the man offered, looking back down at Anna.

Elsa heard Anna opening up the map in her hands. "Umm, can you help us find the five freeway, and which highway we should take to get to Palm Springs?

Peering over the gas pump, she saw Anna doing exactly as she had told her to do; Anna was opening the map away from Elsa, so that the man had to turn his back away from the pump in order to look at it.

As the mark was pointing to the map and explaining the highways, Elsa quickly glanced around the gas station, making sure nobody was looking. Then, she swiftly reached over and silently pulled out his credit card from the slot, and waited with it grasped safely in her hand.

_Come on Anna...you got this. _

"Thank you so much. So are you from this area?" Anna asked, still holding up the map.

"Yea, Los Angeles, born and raised."

"Wow you're lucky, southern California is awesome. Which part of LA?"

"Yea, I guess. Weather's nice I suppose. And I'm from West Hollywood. What about you?"

_Come on...we need specifics..._

"I'm from the bay area, but me and my girlfriend are thinking about moving down here. West Hollywood? We've looked at a couple places there. What part of West Hollywood do you live in?"

"Well, have you heard of Urth Caffe? I live right across the street."

_Bingo._

Recognizing the specific area, Elsa quickly stuck in and pulled out his credit card into their own side of the gas pump. When it asked for the zip code, she punched in the corresponding zip code to the man's location in West Hollywood, having memorized most of the zip codes of Los Angeles from memory. Then, making sure the man wasn't looking, she reached over and quickly returned his card into the slot on his side of the gas pump.

_Good girl._

As Anna continued talking to the man, Elsa, now feeling more relieved, picked up the pump, selected the premium option and proceeded to fill her car with gas.

Anna took a quick look around at Elsa, and she looked back, giving her a nod.

_Wrap it up. _

Understanding, Anna closed the map and turned around, prompting the man to turn around as well. They exchanged a few more words of small talk, then Anna ended it, her job finished. "Bye! Thank you!"

Leaning against her car, Elsa watched as Anna happily bounded back. "Yea?" Anna whispered when she got close, absolutely enthralled, her cheeks pink and rosy.

"Yea," Elsa replied, her sheepish grin getting the best of her. But it quickly faded when Anna stepped in front of Elsa and started wrapping her arms around her. Making her lean back into the car, Anna hugged her and rested her chin against Elsa's chest, eyes looking up at Elsa, just sparkling.

"W-what are you doing?" Elsa stood up straight and nudged Anna off of her.

Anna stepped in closer again and whispered into her ear, making Elsa exhale sharply at the sensation. "Well, we're girlfriends, remember? We have to sell it..."

Elsa forcefully pushed her off and stared at Anna, needing a moment to consider what had just happened, heart pounding in her chest. Gathering herself up, Elsa pulled her lips into a thin, hard line and she firmly pointed to the passenger seat of her car, indicating for Anna to get inside. Puzzled, Anna searched Elsa's face to see why she was upset, but eventually followed her order and they both got into Elsa's car, where Elsa had the privacy to reprimand her.

"Anna...okay why'd you say we were girlfriends? It was clear, we were supposed to be _friends_. One of the biggest rules in this game is that you _always _follow through with the agreed upon plans, no matter how trivial they seem to be."

Anna shrugged, and in that moment the gas pump handle clicked and released its automatic grip, indicating the car was full. "Sorry, I won't do it again," she said simply, lifting up her baseball cap to shake her hair free, "I guess I just got carried away. I just wanted to improvise a little."

Elsa looked at her sister. It was her first time, and Elsa had to admit to herself it actually went pretty well. She sighed, grabbing the hat away from her, bringing Anna's attention to her to make sure she was listening. "Fine, I'll let you off the hook this time, but don't do anything like that again. Not only is it risky telling strangers you're..._gay_...but-"

Just then, the mark in the suit knocked on Elsa's window. Startled, Elsa looked over to Anna, who just looked back at her with wide eyes and shrugged. Bracing herself, Elsa rolled down the window a pinch. "Yes?"

The man smiled. It was creepy. "So, you guys are dating? Like, you guys are lesbians?" He brought up his hand and rested it against her car, leaning in seductively.

Knowing what was probably coming, Elsa clenched her jaw and dropped the hat into Anna's lap. Without saying a word she opened the door and pushed it hard, prompting him to back up. While she took the gas pump nozzle out of the car and placed it back into the gas pump, she heard him say to Anna, "You guys wanna come over and check out my place? I'll buy you guys some coffee afterwards. It'll be fun."

Elsa scowled under her breath, twisting on the gas cap to her car. She opened her car door more violently this time, shoving him backwards again. And before he or Anna could say anything, Elsa turned on the engine and forcefully stepped on the gas pedal, making her white B.M.W. roar and rev loudly, startling and frightening the man and making him step back even further. Satisfied with the shocked expression on his face, Elsa shot him a cold look through the window, then shifted her car into the right gear and sped her and her sister away.

For a few solid minutes the two girls sat in silence as they drove down the pacific coast highway. Elsa glanced over at Anna, who was staring out at the beach through her window. She'd never seen her sister so quiet before. _What is she think_ing _about?_

Just when Elsa was about to ask if she was alright, Anna looked over, her face full of regret and something else she couldn't figure out. "Elsa, sorry about that. Next time I promise I'll stick with the plan," she said quietly.

Elsa nodded, but the way Anna shifted and looked out the window again, Elsa knew that wasn't the only thing on her mind. There was another silence before she asked the next question.

"Umm...Elsa...so, a-are...you...gay?"

The air inside the car suddenly became very heavy and she felt it hanging over her, weighing down on her. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and fixed her eyes on the road ahead; she couldn't look at her. Her mind raced to find the right answer, but nothing came up, and she didn't know what to say. So after a few moments of frantic contemplation, she decided to tell her the truth.

"Yea...is that okay?" Elsa said cautiously, breaking the uneasy silence.

She could feel Anna looking at her, and the weight of it was almost too much to bear. She tried to concentrate on the road, trying not to look too twitchy.

"O-of course Elsa. Of course I'm okay with it..." At a stoplight now, Elsa timidly looked over at Anna, who was smiling softly. "You should've told me before. You can tell me anything, okay?"

Right then, something washed over Elsa, and it almost too much, every emotion rushing at her. She felt it for the first time in so long, richer than any buzz she felt with any con she'd done in the past. She felt full, filled to the brim. Everything felt lighter and brighter, the beach sparkling to their right, seagulls soaring overhead, and her younger sister safe in her car beside her.

Blinking away the wet, tingling sensation in her eyes, she asked any random question, just to say something. She cleared her throat. "Uh..so...are you?...Gay?" she slowly sputtered out without thinking. "I mean...c-cuz, research has shown if one sibling is gay, then the other has a high chance of being gay too...er...yea."

She nervously glanced over at Anna, who still had that soft look on her face. Anna sunk back into her seat and looked out the road ahead. She lifted her baseball cap and turned it so that it faced the front, and secured it snugly over her forehead so that Elsa couldn't see her eyes anymore. "Um...I don't think so? I...I dunno I mean, I never had feelings for another girl. But then again, I've never had real feelings for a guy either...so...I dunno."

She was still so young, and Elsa found herself adoring her little sister even more. "Well, if you ever fall in love with a girl, let me know. I have plenty of tips. And if she ever hurts you or breaks your heart, you have an older sister that will hunt her down and make her regret it."

Anna peered over at her from under the baseball cap. "Thanks, sis."

Another moment of silence while Anna looked out the window again, with only the sound of Elsa occasionally shifting gears, interrupting the light, even drone of the car humming smoothly down the highway.

Anna broke the silence. "Well, now I guess that Double Trouble sex toy thing in your nightstand makes a little bit more sense," she said, still looking out the window. By the tone of her voice, Elsa could tell she was smiling that little smile of hers.

Letting a smile spread across her face, Elsa reached over and gripped the bill of the baseball cap and playfully pulled it down over Anna's eyes. "Hey, I told you that was a stupid gift." They both giggled, and Anna pulled her cap up and looked over at her. Their their eyes locked. And it was moments like these that Elsa now lived for.

* * *

"Right here. Here's perfect."

It was midday and the Los Angeles Union Station was bustling, people whizzing by dragging their suitcases behind them and lugging their bags and briefcases, not giving the pair of elite con artists a moment's notice as they stood in the middle of the station and surveyed the layout of their next big con.

The place could've been right out of an old seventies movie, having that old, aged and historic train station aroma, with windows rising and stretching along the sides of the foyer, rays of sunshine spilling onto the floors. The interior was an ornate display of red, marbled flooring, the wooden ceiling soaring overhead with a collection of round, simple chandeliers hanging throughout. Rows of fat, leather armchairs were set side by side in rows along the vast hall, and Kristoff and Elsa were standing in the midst of these armchairs not too far from the Traxx Restaurant and Bar situated in the corner of it all.

"His back has to be facing the bar," Elsa said, imagining Ronald sitting in the large armchair in front of her that was slightly diagonal from the station's alcohol bar. "The bar's where the distraction will happen."

Regardless of the chaotic nature of the place, Elsa was pleased that the exchange would be happening in a busy setting such as this. The more people around, the safer it was. Kristoff had told her as soon as Ronald got the money, he wanted to take it straight into Nevada by train, so this was where the drop was going to happen.

"When's he heading out to Nevada again?" Elsa asked.

Kristoff plopped down into the armchair that was designated for Ronald, turning his body around in the seat to make sure he had a good view of the bar. "In just a couple weeks. I'll let you know of the exact date later," he said, still looking over his shoulder.

"Okay, move." Elsa fanned him off with her hand, implying for Kristoff to get up from the seat so that she herself could determine if the spot had a good view of the bar as well. Kristoff listened and moved over to the armchair across from her, facing the bar now.

When Elsa was satisfied with the position of the seat, she turned around and faced Kristoff. "Okay. So, I'm going to put the other suitcase under your armchair. Let's switch for a second." Kristoff obeyed and they switched places.

In the leather armchair facing the bar now, she leaned over and pretended to pull out an imaginary suitcase from under the chair, placing it on her lap. She did it again, this time swifter, making sure she had enough arm room and space to do it as quickly as possible.

"Okay. This will do. His back _has _to be to the bar. _Back _to the bar, got it?" Elsa stressed, looking at Kristoff, and he nodded his head.

Ronald would sit down with his back to the bar, and Elsa and Kristoff would sit across from him. It was customary to always show the goods before making the exchange, so Elsa would bring the four-hundred thousand dollars in a suitcase with her, Ronald not knowing that another suitcase full of useless papers would be under her armchair before he got there. She'd show him the money in the first suitcase, and he'd show the diamonds. Right then, a shill, or accomplice they would hire, usually a nobody, would create a diversion at the Traxx bar, throwing some kind of tantrum, getting Ronald to turn his head around away from Elsa and Kristoff. During this short amount of time, Elsa would take the opportunity to quickly switch out her suitcase with the one underneath the chair. Then, when Ronald would turn back around, they'd make the exchange, and Kristoff and Elsa would walk off with both his diamonds and their four-hundred thousand dollars, while Ronald would ride into Nevada with suitcase full of worthless papers. They'd done it multiple times before and had never failed.

"So, who's gunna be the shill for this one?" Kristoff asked, scratching his head lazily and yawning. He always got tired in the afternoons. It was probably his sloth-like metabolism and unhealthy eating habits.

"What about Candice?" Elsa asked, nonchalantly bringing up Kristoff's supposedly one and only love of his life, curious about their relationship.

"Yea right. I'll take care of the shill, I have a few people in mind."

"You're not going to take my advice, are you..." Elsa asked, still sitting up straight, refusing to sit back into the public armchair, no matter how comfortable it looked.

"Elsa I'm whipped. I can't help it," he said, leaning back into the armchair and putting his hands behind his head, face plastered with a dreamy smile. "I've never been in love like this in my whole life. Candice is everything to me."

Elsa sighed and brushed a thing of lint off her wool dress pants. "You're doomed."

"I know I know...hey you comin' to my Halloween party?" Kristoff said leaning forward, looking over at Elsa, energized now. "You can finally meet Candice. Oh! And bring Anna! I haven't met her yet..."

Elsa frowned. She hated parties, but she had to admit to herself that on big holidays such as Halloween, going to one was better than staying home alone. Whether the event was New Year's Eve, the Fourth of July, or even Christmas Eve, a part of Elsa always wanted to stay in and snuggle up with a cup of organic dark hot chocolate and watch movies. But regardless of the strong introvert that she was, there was always that empty and lonesome sentiment of being so solitary on such holidays.

Not receiving an immediate reply, Kristoff reached over and nudged Elsa on the arm. "C'mon it'll be fun."

Anna had wanted to meet Kristoff, so there was that. And she'd always been curious about who this Candice girl was anyways. So, Elsa gave in. "Fine, but I'm not dressing up."

"Elsa, it's a _Halloween_ party. You're a tool if you _don't _dress up."

Elsa sighed. "We'll see..." she said as she got up from the armchair. Kristoff followed, and they both made their way towards the entrance.

* * *

It was finally Friday again, and Elsa eagerly threw open her front door and called out "Baby Anna I'm home!" She saw the top of her red head sticking up from the couch, but was slightly surprised when Anna didn't turn around to greet her like she usually did. Closing the door behind her, Elsa set her professional messenger bag on the floor, slipped out of her high heels, and walked over to the oddly quiet girl.

"Anna?" Elsa's heart dropped when she saw her younger sister's face scrunched up, cheeks wet with tears, legs pulled up onto the couch against her chest. "Anna! What happened?" Elsa quickly sat herself down next to her.

"I'm done. I'm _done _with guys."

"Anna..." Elsa said softly, "Oh Anna," and without even giving it a thought, Elsa reached over and pulled the girl towards her, wrapping her arms around her and holding her sister close, longing to mend Anna's tender young heart. She felt Anna fall into her, gripping the back of her blazer, and although the thought of it wrinkling crossed her mind, she couldn't care less about it now.

With Anna still in her arms, Elsa took of her baseball cap and placed it onto the coffee table beside them. "It's gunna be okay." She gently massaged her scalp for a little, then slowly ran her fingers through her free-flowing hair a few times, secretly inhaling as much of her scent as she could. "Just let it all out."

After a few quiet sobs, Anna pulled back and sat up straight, wiping her tears with the palm of her hand. "It was that guy, Mike, who took me to Santa Monica Pier," she said, her voice tight and wavering.

Elsa furrowed her eyebrows in concern. "You saw him again?"

"Yea, whatever I dunno. Never seeing that douchebag again."

"What happened?"

Anna sighed. "Um...I don't wanna talk about it right now."

Elsa continued to stroke Anna's hair back to prevent any strands from sticking to her wet cheeks. "Okay, that's fine. Just give me his contact information, and his address if you have it."

Anna exhaled a shaky breath and gave Elsa a small, timid smile. "No, you're not gunna go after him."

She looked at her younger sister, trying to think of something that might cheer her up. "Fine. Do you wanna run your own con today?" As soon as she finished the sentence, Anna's lips spread into a wide grin, and she perked right up. "Hell yea I do."

Satisfied with Anna's lifted mood, Elsa mentally dug through her bag of tricks, searching for something appropriate, something small Anna could be able to lead. She smiled when she thought of the perfect con for their Friday night. "Baby Anna, we're finally going to wash your pile of dirty laundry that's been piling up in my closet."

Anna blinked at her, confused, but suddenly she jumped in her seat. "Oh! I have a surprise for you." She wiped the last remnants of her tears on her sleeve and took Elsa's hand. "C'mere." She pulled her up from the couch and led Elsa to the kitchen.

It was then that Elsa realized the apartment smelled delicious, air thick and warm with the smell of...

_Pizza?_

"Homemade, all natural ingredients, with that whole wheat dough shit you like," Anna said, stopping in front of a cooling pizza on the kitchen island.

"Watch your language..." but she trailed off, staring down at it. It wasn't the most appetizing looking thing, a little burnt around the edges, the shape more of an oval than a circle, with some cheese lacking in some areas. But it smelled delicious, and Elsa's stomach gave a light grumble. "W-wow, Anna I don't know what to say. This looks good, I can't wait to try it," Elsa said softly, still looking down at the pizza, getting a bit overwhelmed. Nobody had ever made or cooked her anything before. Ever.

"I know it's probably not as healthy as your other meals you usually make, but c'mon, it's okay to eat things that aren't as healthy for you now and then. Like...we're _human _Elsa. There are so many things that taste good in this world, and I hate to use this phrase, but you only live once."

Elsa brought her gaze down at the young girl beside her. She realized her hand was still clasped tightly between Anna's fingers, lingering in her grip.

Anna went on. "You can't always live so strictly, cuz then you lose out on so many good things if you do. It won't be the end of the world if you loosen up a little. Like, yea...eating healthy food is safe and good for you, but it's all about moderation. Eating things that _taste _good is good for you too, like it's good for your soul, or whatever. It makes you feel good."

Elsa continued to look at her younger sister for a moment longer, taking in everything she'd said. She then smiled and pulled her hand out of Anna's grip, reaching up to ruffle her hair. "When did you get so smart?" And with that, Elsa reached down, grabbed a slice and bit into it, smiling as she chewed, peering down at Anna. And Anna lit up like the sun.

...

Elsa was sitting in one of the many chairs lining the wall of the Laundromat, pretending to read one of her fashion magazines she had brought with her. Tonight the mark was an older woman, around mid-forties, hair in a messy bun, bags under her eyes, wearing comfortably fitting but rather unflattering choices of clothing: mom-jeans and a worn out plain red t-shirt. She had three heaping bags of laundry with her, and Elsa peered over the magazine to notice they were all boys clothing's. _Washed out, tired old mom of maybe three or four, _Elsa thought to herself. _Working all day, just for her boys. Shouldn't be too difficult. _

Just then, a striking, sprightly young girl with a backwards snapback snug on her head bounced into the Laundromat with a bag full of laundry. She was in her usual, white heavy combat boots today, but a little more fashionable for the fall weather, with Elsa's help of course; faded red jeans, a grey button up shirt with a tan, knitted cardigan draped over it. As the young girl passed Elsa to make her way over to the mark, Anna glanced down and gave Elsa a quick wink, and Elsa brought up the magazine to cover her goofy little smile. For the con today, they were strangers.

They'd made a quick stop at a gas station beforehand, purchasing a lottery ticket with the previous month's winning numbers on it, but with two numbers changed.

"_You know the chances of you hitting the same numbers in the same month are like...zero..." the cashier grumbled, clearly hating her job as a gas station convenience store attendant. _

"_Well, that's why I changed two numbers," Elsa said innocently, amused. She looked down at Anna, who was looking at the cashier with an eyebrow cocked. _

"_Wasting your dollar," the cashier mumbled under her breath as she took the ticket and Elsa's dollar. _

"_Hey, did she ask you for your opinion?" Anna shot back with an edge in her voice. "Are you her financial advisor? No. So take her dollar and give her the ticket, 'kay?" Anna stared the cashier down. _

_The cashier muttered something under her breath again, turning towards the cash register. Without saying anything, Elsa reached up and gave the girl next to her a light squeeze on the back of her neck, giving her a quick massage, a way to say 'thanks.'_

The cashier was right, but they weren't buying the lottery ticket to win. In the car outside the laundromat, Elsa had Anna scratch off today's date that was printed on the lottery ticket. She also had her crumple the receipt up to make it look as worn out as she could, as if it had been washed and turned in the laundry by accident.

Now peering over the magazine, Elsa watched Anna work.

"Wow, you've got a lot of clothes there ma'am," Anna said to the mark as she placed her own bag of laundry on the floor next to the woman's.

"Hah, yes indeed. Three boys, can you imagine?" The mark said, chuckling. "Two of them are twins. The house is never quiet. Believe it or not, I actually like coming here because it's quieter than my house!"

_Yup, she's a talker. _

Anna started to put in her load, pouring her dirty laundry into a nearby washing machine. "Wow, you sure must've been surprised when you found out! What are their names?"

Sliding in some coins into the machine, the woman smiled. "Well, the oldest is Benjamin, and the two younger twins...their names are Harold and Phoenix. Harold is the older twin by just a few minutes, and Benjamin is the oldest, three years older. I love 'em to death, I really do, but I can't wait until they go to college. Then I'll finally be able to rest, you know?" The mark laughed.

"Haha, yea I bet. You sure sound like you could use a vacation. And I like that name, Phoenix..." Anna replied, opening a box of detergent and incorrectly scattering the powder all along the inside of the machine instead of the designated hole on the side.

"Thanks sweetheart. What's your name?"

"Name's Katie. What's yours?"

"Well nice to meet you Katie. My name's Helen." And with that, they shook hands.

"Well, I'm going to go get something from the vending machine," Anna said as she inserted her coins and pressed 'start.' "I haven't eaten all day. I work part time at a restaurant and Saturdays are always busy. Can I get you anything, Helen?"

"Oh no sweetheart I'm good, thanks though."

"Alright," and as Anna walked towards Elsa, she gave her a sly smile, letting her know she was about to make the big drop. Most of her magazine still covering her face, Elsa watched as Anna discreetly reached into her pocket and pulled out the wadded up lottery ticket they'd purchased earlier. She dropped the ball of paper in front of her and gave it a light kick with her boot. Anna shot her a toothy grin as she passed Elsa.

"Wait, Katie, I think you dropped something," Helen called out behind her.

"Huh?" Anna spun around and searched the floor, spotting the small wad of paper she'd just dropped. "Oh uh, that's not mine. I saw it on the floor and kicked it." She reached down and picked it up, walking back towards the mark as she straightened it and laid it out flat on the machine next in front of her.

Elsa continued to be impressed by her acting abilities. _Must be in the genes or something. _

"Looks like it's a lottery ticket...can't seem to figure out the date..." the mark said, picking it up and narrowing her eyes to get a better look at the worn out ticket. "Hm, it probably didn't win though, right? Because it got thrown away."

Anna pulled out her cell phone from her back pocket and flicked at the screen. "Well, might as well give it a try right? Doesn't hurt," she said, most likely navigating through the internet to find the lottery website. "Okay, so here are the winning numbers." Anna slowly read them out loud to her.

Elsa saw the mark's eyes widen as Anna read her the numbers. "Oh! Oh...my we were so close Katie! We were two numbers off, aw shucks." The woman gave a disappointed chuckle.

She saw Anna turning her head to glance over worriedly at Elsa. The mark was supposed to have known that four out of the six number still won money, but it looked like the woman didn't know that. Anna needed her help; she didn't know what to do.

Elsa brought down the magazine and cleared her throat. "Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help but overhear...did you say you were only two off?"

Surprised at the interference, Anna turned her body towards Elsa, and Helen looked up and replied, "Why, yes. It has to be all the numbers to win, don't it?"

"Well, no actually. You can still win money if you get even three out of the six numbers. The website posts how much money you win if you get three, four, or five out of the six."

Excited again, Helen tapped Anna on the shoulder. "Oh! Katie! Check! Check to see how much!"

Anna gave a grateful smile to Elsa before she looked down and flicked her finger across the screen. "Hmm..okay here it is. It says...$600 dollars for four numbers." She looked at Elsa. "Excuse me, does that sound right? $600 dollars for four numbers?"

Elsa nodded. "Yea that about sounds right. Congratulations."

Anna turned and looked at Helen. "Yea congratulations Helen! You could use that money towards that vacation."

Helen jumped up and clapped her hands. "Oh my god! Oh praise the lord I've been blessed! $600 dollars?! Haha!"

Then suddenly, Helen raised her eyebrows, taken back. "Wait no sweetheart no! We've both won! We've got to split it evenly, of course."

Anna rubbed the back of her neck and said with a disappointed voice, "Aw no it's okay. You enjoy it, I don't think I'm even old enough to play the lottery. And I have to get home to my mom soon anyways, after this load."

Elsa saw Helen looking down at the ticket, thinking for a moment. Then, she took Anna by the hand and started to take her outside. "Here, come with me. There's an ATM machine right around the corner."

_Bingo. _

By the time Anna's laundry was done washing, they weren't back yet, so Elsa braced herself and collected the wet laundry and transferred into to a drying machine. She blushed when she saw a few of Anna's undergarments. _Christ, they're all different shades of green _she thought to herself, plucking the last few pieces of clothing tacked onto the insides of the washing machine.

Finally, the two came back from the ATM machine, giggling and laughing, Anna with a bag full of chips and Helen with a small carton of cookies. Anna passed Elsa again and gave her a slight nod as she threw a chip into her mouth, where it crunched loudly in-between her teeth.

_Good girl. _

_..._

"Bye Helen!"

In her car now, Elsa saw Anna waving goodbye to the mark from the entrance of the Laundromat from her rear view mirror. Anna ran over to her B.M.W., threw open the passenger door and chucked her bag of laundry into the back seat. As soon as she closed the door shut, Elsa pushed the start button and the car rumbled to life, and they sped off.

"How much?" Elsa asked casually as she smoothly shifted gears.

"Three-hundred bucks," she said haughtily, patting her pocket, "I'll buy you something nice."

Elsa snorted. "Baby, that's spare change to me. I'll buy _you _something nice." They both laughed.

* * *

The month wound down and the days were crisp and nippy, the streets littered with the browns and golds of shed leaves, and the walls of restaurants adorned with Halloween decorations of vampires, zombies and playful little ghosts. It was another long week but finally home from the office that Friday, Elsa found herself standing in front of and staring at her front door, which, out of nowhere, had a paper jack-o'-lantern taped onto it, smiling and saying 'Happy Halloween!' She couldn't help but smile at the thing, knowing Anna had probably taped it up there today, and was now waiting for her inside.

This was the world she was in now, of Anna coming over every weekend, filling her apartment with warmth and noise. They had their occasional ventures of minor cons and scams, but most of the time, they were just regular sisters or friends, staying home and watching movies, while Anna would complain about how bland the organic, butter-free popcorn was. So Anna would always bring a thing of butter, and during her lonely weekdays, whenever Elsa would open the fridge and see that butter, she would smile and her heart would melt a little, just like how the butter would melt over the piping hot popcorn fresh out of the kettle.

Their relationship was something that they were learning how to navigate slowly, like an undiscovered territory. Elsa had rules, and Anna was learning them, sometimes the hard way, but Elsa tried her best to be gentle. Sometimes, Anna would put an arm around Elsa and insist she was being too stern and serious about things. It would have to be after some light quarreling that Elsa and Anna would come to a mutual agreement of some sorts.

Because it was unfamiliar, learning how to be gentle and soft with someone. It was still all settling in and still taking its shape, the relationship they were forming and creating with each passing weekend. It was like learning another language, a different way doing something Elsa had always thought she'd mastered. Interacting, compromising, cooperating; she had to figure it all out again, in a more milder, compassionate way.

And more recently, something had definitely changed between them. It was subtle, perhaps indiscernible to Anna, but Elsa knew it was there. The way Anna apologized and tucked her hair behind her ears more often. The way when Anna would bounce onto the bed and Elsa's magazine would fall to the floor, how Anna would quickly jump off and pick it up for her before Elsa could reach down to get it. How Anna finally started eating Elsa's food she'd cook for her, struggling her way through the whole meal; Anna would have to douse her food with sauces and flavorings. Elsa's spice cabinet was now filled with a variety of different bottles and shakers: salts, spices, different Tabasco flavors, and of course, Anna's favorite, Sriracha sauce. Elsa would just gawk as Anna would squeeze almost a fourth of the bottle over her meals.

And many times, something would pass between the two girls. The sly, sideways looks she and Anna would exchange during their little cons. Or how now and then Elsa would catch her eye and find Anna looking at her, and something would ripple across Anna's face as she looked away. When they would lock eyes or hand each other things, there'd be a flicker of something; something was there. _Something. _

And eventually, without either of them giving it much thought or acknowledgement, somehow 'Baby Anna' became just 'baby,' and they both just accepted it.

"Baby remember to charge your phone tonight. We're going to be out most of the day tomorrow."

"Mkay."

Elsa was curled on her side in bed perusing October's issue of _Vogue, _studying the upcoming winter coats that were to be out in stores soon. Anna was already in bed beside her, playing some kind of game on her cell phone.

Eyes starting to feel heavy, Elsa closed her magazine, set it on the nightstand, and reached up to turn off the lamp. "Good night," she said sleepily, curling up on her side of the bed, facing away from Anna.

"Night," Anna replied back distractedly, still focused on her game. Elsa heard her silencing her cell phone.

A few moments after, Elsa heard Anna sit up and the 'beep' of her cell phone connecting to its charger. She dropped it down on the ground and settled in under the covers to prepare to sleep.

A comfortable stillness took over the room. The night was calm and clear outside, nothing stirring, and Elsa could hear nothing but the soft breaths of both of them slowly falling asleep. This was one of her favorite moments, of Anna falling asleep safe and sound by her side.

_It's because she's finally quiet, _Elsa thought, smiling to herself. She thought about what tomorrow might hold for them. Anna mentioned she wanted to go shopping. They could probably go to the Grove Shopping Center, but that place was usually crowded on Saturdays. But Elsa liked the Grove; it was kind of reminiscent of Disneyland's main street, but with a large spurting fountain, a stream with a bridge over it, and a grassy area where people could walk their dogs and lay out a blanket and eat their picnic meals. Encircling around all of this were department stores, restaurants with outside seating, ice cream and gelato shops, cute little stores selling random, quirky items, and carts dispersed throughout selling fresh pretzels and churros. Anna would like that, especially the churros maybe. There were the fancier department stores Elsa could shop at, and clothing stores for younger people like Anna. If they were lucky, maybe they'd catch some live music. It'd be the perfect place; delightful and romantic.

_Wait, romantic?_

Just then, she heard the girl beside her shift, but Elsa thought nothing of it until she felt Anna slide over, almost too close to her. Elsa froze. Why was she so close? She was so close that she could smell Anna's fresh-out-of-the-shower scent, the smell she secretly couldn't get enough of. So close that she felt Anna's toes touch her own, making her heart leap out of her chest when they did, and she immediately pulled her feet away. So close that she felt and heard the younger girl's breaths right behind her. So close, so that eventually, she felt the space behind her pillow sink deeper, indicating Anna had moved over to use hers.

Elsa gulped, her heart pounding. What was happening? What was Anna doing? She did her best to maintain a controlled, normal breathing pattern.

And then it happened.

Anna reached over and slid her arm around her waist, pulling Elsa toward her gathering her up close. Elsa grew rigid as she felt their bodies merge together, holding her breath as Anna's entire front gently pushed into her back; her _chest _into her back. The space on the pillow immediately behind her head sank down deeper as Anna placed her head right up against her own. She felt Anna take a deep breath right up against her ear, and she exhaled it into her hair as she settled in. "Is this okay?" she whispered, her hot breath tickling her ear, making Elsa bite her lip at the sensation.

Elsa was sure Anna would be able to hear her heart pounding fiercely against her chest. She wanted to wipe her palms, but she couldn't move, her mind drawing a blank, just racing for answers, for the meaning of this. Was this normal for sisters? To hold each other like this? Was it normal that she was liking this so much?

"Yea," Elsa finally whispered back.

And as the minutes stretched and passed by, Elsa just laid there in the dark, silently gnawing her lower lip, trying to soak up every sensation of Anna pressed up behind her with her arm draped around her waist, knowing sleep would not come easily tonight.


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n: **i'm in need of a beta reader, so if any kind soul would be willing, please feel free to pm me (here or on my tumblr). i know i can't be too specific, but anyone who thinks they'd be able to beta read something in 3 days and have some college writing courses under their belt would be awesome.

for now, i will ask all you precious friends to point out any spelling/grammatical errors in the reviews, if you spot any. thank you to those that have done this for the past chapters, and thank you in advance as well. and thank you for your reviews, i read and consider every single one of them.

that's enough from me. hope you enjoy chapter 7!

* * *

Elsa sat cross-legged on a laid out directory brochure to prevent her pants from getting dirty from the grass beneath her. She leaned backwards slightly, propping herself up with her two arms stretched out behind her. Anna was practically rolling in the grassy turf beside her, sprawled out and sighing contently and mentioning something about what a nice day it was, and how she loved to shop, and how she never shopped because none of her guy friends would go with her. Surrounded by a good number of shopping bags from a variety of stores, the pair of sisters were taking a break, resting on the large grassy area in the middle of the outdoor shopping mall.

Elsa wished she could feel as relaxed as her younger sibling. Although she was eyeing it from a safe distance, Elsa watched in unease as an unleashed, large black dog chased a ball its owner was throwing, and maybe it was just her imagination but it seemed like the guy was chucking it closer and closer towards them with each throw, prompting the large, dirty beast to dash closer to them every time. Elsa hated dogs.

"Hey I'm gunna go get a churro. Be right back," Anna said, getting up and clapping her hands together to get rid of some bits of grass.

"Wait-" before she realized it Elsa was brushing off Anna's pants, her impulses getting the best of her. "Turn around," she ordered, wanting to make sure there was no more grass. Anna obeyed, and Elsa vigorously swatted away a few more pieces that were hanging off Anna's lower thigh. When she was completely sure that Anna's pants were clean, she gave an "okay," giving her permission to go.

Anna muttered "thanks," and curled some loose hairs behind her ear before she left for the nearby churro stand. As she watched her younger sister approach the cart and start to order, Elsa found herself observing her physique. Anna didn't exercise, but she was always moving, bouncing around here and there, never staying still. So maybe that was why her thighs were a good mix of soft and firm. And the weight of those combat boots, you'd need some strength in those legs to lug those things around.

And suddenly, out of the blue, the image of her lips grazing Anna's thighs as her hands slowly ran over them flashed before her eyes.

Elsa shot her head around and covered her mouth, as if she'd said her thoughts out loud. She stared at the grassy ground in front of her, shocked by the lewd thought. She tried to push it away by turning her attention back to the dog and its owner_. _But that wasn't working, so she shut her eyes; hopefully she could clear her head out that way.

Fingers still clasped over her mouth, Elsa had a huge urge to start nibbling at her nails, a nasty habit she had when she was younger. But she fought it, forcing her hands down into her lap. She took a deep breath and focused on the spouting fountain, calming her mind.

Just then, she heard a man yell "watch out!" and she spun her head around to see the ball flying straight towards her. She gasped and held up a hand to her face to brace herself when an arm jutted out from nowhere, catching the ball midair right in front of her head. Startled, Elsa looked up to see Anna, churro in one hand, ball in the other, giving the dog's owner a stern look. After making her sentiment obvious to the owner, holding the ball and glaring at him for a few moments, she threw it back and then glanced down at Elsa, who was just gawking at her. "You okay?" she asked simply as she sat down next to her, taking a bite out of her churro.

"Y...yea, thanks," Elsa said slowly, still staring at her. "You really have good hand-eye coordination, don't you."

Anna brushed off some sugar that had fallen onto her jeans. "I guess. I'm pretty good with my hands. Here, try some," Anna said, bringing over the sugar-laden stick of fried dough in front of Elsa's face. "Have you had one before?"

"No," Elsa said firmly, staring at all the sugar. The thing had so much sugar. But it smelled delicious.

"Well, remember what I said to you about moderation? One bite won't kill you." She brought the treat closer to Elsa's mouth.

Knowing by now of Anna's persistent ways, Elsa knew resisting wouldn't get her very far. She sighed, already defeated. "Okay one bite, that's it." Anna grinned and as Elsa opened her mouth, she stuck a bit of the churro into it, but not too much, which Elsa was grateful for. She sunk her teeth into the crunchy outside and pulled off a small chunk, and chewed.

"Good right?" Anna said, pulling it away from her mouth and taking another bite for herself.

Elsa smiled. "Yea, it's good," she admitted. It _was _good. _Really _good.

"Want some more?"

"No thanks."

Anna nodded, but her eyes remained on Elsa, who looked back at her, puzzled. She saw Anna's eyes trail down to her lips and her gaze lingered there. And then, there was that familiar ripple across her face; the same one that had been happening lately.

"Hey, uh, you have some sugar on your bottom lip," Anna said quietly, looking away.

"Oh, shoot," Elsa quickly brought up her hand and brushed a few granules away. "Thanks."

Looking their different ways, the two girls sat in silence, Anna munching away and Elsa leaning back again, observing a nearby couple lying down on theirs backs, embraced in each other's arms. After a few moments of soaking up the sun and enjoying the cool, fall breeze, Elsa turned her head to see what Anna was up to. She was just finishing up her snack, popping the last bit of churro in her mouth. A strong breeze blew into them, and Anna reached up to grip her snapback securely to her head. Just then, a piece of paper fluttered towards them, and Anna adeptly reached out and snatched it, midair.

Impressed, Elsa asked what it was as Anna brought it to her face to look at it. "It's a receipt for Urban Outfitters. This person bought a shit ton of stuff too," Anna replied, scanning her eyes down the receipt. "Whatever," Anna said indifferently, letting the receipt go.

"Wait!" Elsa yelled, shooting out her hand to stop Anna, but she stopped, startled at herself. She watched another gust of wind blow the small piece of paper away across the grass.

Anna turned to look at her, surprised. "What?"

Eyes wide and mouth slightly gaped open, Elsa looked back at her sister, a little shocked. "Oh, uh...wow never mind," she said slowly.

"What?"

Elsa ran her fingers through her hair, looking out at the fountain beyond the verdant lawn. "Wow, that was kind of an automatic response," she said, chuckling. She looked back at Anna, who was still watching her, confused.

"Well...when I was younger," Elsa began, "maybe around your age, I'd actually go around looking for receipts like that." She looked back out at the fountain, smiling to herself. "So when I'd find a receipt around a clothing store, I'd go into that store, find an item or two that was on the receipt and I'd take the tags off. Then I'd take the receipt and the clothes to the cashier, and they'd usually give me a refund for those items, right there on the spot."

Anna had stopped chewing and was just looking at her. "Smart..." she said as she began chewing again.

Elsa gave a small chuckle. "That's just the kind of stuff I used to do to get by when I was younger. It wasn't much, but it was just enough to get me by."

After eyeing Elsa a bit longer, Anna followed her gaze to the water fountain. "You know, you're really smart Elsa."

"Not really."

"No, you are. You're one of the smartest and cleverest people I know."

The older girl looked back at her and gave her a sheepish smile, bringing up her thumb and brushing off some sugar that had been on the younger one's lip. "Thanks Anna."

Another moment of silence as another breeze sailed through the shopping center, blowing Elsa's hair back. She closed her eyes, taking in the cool sensation. As the breeze dissipated, Elsa opened her eyes and she caught Anna looking at her, with that _same _look, and as always, Anna quickly looked away. Anna hurriedly asked a question, maintaining her gaze in the other direction. "Um, so, did you have a favorite con when you were younger?"

Her bottom was growing numb, so Elsa shifted herself to reposition her body, gathering her legs up against her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She looked up at the sky to reminisce about her younger days. "Umm, let's see." She clicked her tongue a couple times, mentally digging through her past. "Well, there was one where I had a partner. Cons with a partner were always more fun."

Anna turned her body towards her, intrigued. Elsa smiled and introduced her to one of her favorite tricks. "Okay, so there's the basic snatch and run that was always really fun. We'd spot a mark walking alone on the street. I'd go and snatch and steal her purse. My partner would pretend to be a nearby stranger, and she'd yell "hey!" or something and run after me, pretending to chase me."

Anna, eyes glistening with wonder, nodded eagerly after every sentence, wishing for her to continue.

"So then," Elsa went on, "we'd turn the corner where the mark couldn't see us, and I'd give the purse back to my partner, and she'd turn around and return the purse to the mark. The mark would be grateful and give my partner some money to thank her, and then we'd split it. Sometimes the mark wouldn't offer money, so that would suck, obviously. But most of the time, they'd give at least something. Usually, the older the person, the more they'd give."

Anna was leaning in more now. Elsa could feel her squirming, like she was antsy all of a sudden or something. "Let's do it," she said, voice low but thick with anticipation.

"What?"

"Let's do that one! It sounds fun!"

Elsa threw her head back and gave one loud laugh of disbelief. "Ha! I'm not going to go run and grab someone's purse. That was when I was younger."

Anna pouted and took Elsa's hand into her own, giving it a squeeze. "Please? You run every morning, _and _you're even wearing oxfords today. They should be easy to run in. Just this once, please?" And Anna's eyes turned all puppy dog-like, all shiny and large, sparkling in the sun. "Please?"

"Baby we didn't even get that much most of the time. This one would only bring up like, twenty bucks tops."

"Pleeeeease?"

_God she's so cute..._

Elsa sighed and rolled her eyes, unable to hold back her smile. "Fine. But only this once." _When did I get so whipped? _

Anna squeaked, now overflowing with excitement, and she suddenly leaned in, as if she were about to give Elsa a kiss on the cheek, but she stopped, and they both looked at each other. Anna shot her head back and abruptly stood up, a little too fast. Looking down at her pants and brushing them off, she mumbled, "Sweet, let's go."

...

Elsa looked down at her phone pretending to look busy, trying her best not to look too twitchy. Inside, she was churning with anticipation, the familiar racing pulse and tightness in her chest she used to feel right before executing this same play years ago. The adrenaline was already pumping through her body, her flight and fight responses at the ready. There was always something so exhilarating about snatching and running; in terms of thrill, this con was definitely unmatched to the others.

Keeping her breaths steady and even, Elsa reached up and pulled down the brim of Anna's hat over her eyes; this would be the best way of covering up her face today. She smiled to herself. _So this is what it feels like, wearing this thing, _she thought. It felt nice wearing her hat. It was as if she had a part of Anna with her.

A couple blocks down from the Grove shopping mall, Anna and Elsa had found a good, secluded alleyway. Like how her partner and she did before, Elsa took Anna through the alleyway first. She pointed out two dumpsters that were sitting along one of the brick walls and an abandoned shopping cart laid on its side, directing to her to pay attention to them while she ran so that she wouldn't run into them. They kicked aside a pile of gravel to make sure neither of them would slip on it, and cleared a few plastic bags out of the way. They established that Elsa would wait around the corner for a good mark to turn into the alleyway, while Anna would wait by the shopping cart in the alleyway.

And so, with everything else being ready, the two waited in their positions. It had been around ten minutes, and only two people had walked through the alleyway: a younger teenager and a young woman, but Elsa did not pursue them, for neither of them seemed like the type to give much.

Hearing another pair of footsteps, Elsa peered out from under the cap to see a small woman with greying hair curled up into a limp bob. She was wearing some old stirrup pants and a baseball jacket, maybe one of her son's, with one of those recyclable, eco-friendly reusable bags slung over her shoulder. Elsa nodded her head down to cover her face as the woman walked past her into the alleyway, and at that moment Elsa made the decision that this would be their mark today.

Reaching up to pull Anna's cap down further over her eyes, Elsa took a deep breath and braced herself for the run. Her pulse leaped as she turned around and followed the woman into the alleyway. Keeping a few paces behind her, Elsa looked up and saw Anna leaning back against the brick wall pretending to talk with someone on the phone. They glanced at each other, and Elsa gave her a quick nod, prompting Anna to shoot her head down to hide a small smile.

Today Elsa felt light on her feet. Preparing herself, she rolled her head around, eliciting a few soft cracks. She readied herself for the sprint; the mark was approaching Anna. Once she passed her, that would be Elsa's cue.

As soon as the woman passed her younger sister, Elsa bolted from her place behind the woman. She shot forward and lunged for her bag that was slung loosely over her shoulder. She snatched it and it easily flung out from around her arm and it was now clasped safely in Elsa's grip as she sprinted down the alleyway. Behind her, she heard Anna exclaim, "Hey! Stop!" and the stomping of Anna's running footsteps following not too far behind her.

Elsa grinned as she sharply turned the corner out of the alleyway. She was exhilarated by the wind blowing into her face, her quick and agile steps on the pavement, and her sister running behind her.

Slowing down a bit so Anna could catch up, Elsa prepared to make the quick exchange. Deciding they were a good distance away from the mark, she stopped and swung around to see where Anna was, but to her surprise, as soon as she turned around, Anna rammed hard into Elsa, throwing Elsa back. She landed on her back and Anna fell onto her, both of them grunting as they landed, hard.

"Ow..." Elsa groaned and reached up to rub the back of her head, but her attention was drawn away from the pain when she realized that Anna was lying on top of her, her arms propped up around Elsa's head.

Elsa froze, stunned by how close Anna's face was to hers. She'd never seen Anna up this close. Her cheeks were flushed, her pink lips parted and she was panting heavily; Elsa could feel her breaths against her own lips. She smelled the sweet scent of churro. Anna was staring back at her with a strange look, her eyes wide with a mixture of astonishment, and something Elsa could not quite discern. She felt Anna's eyes trail down to her lips, and Elsa reflexively flicked her tongue over them to moisten them. And Anna's eyes lingered there, for far more than Elsa was comfortable with.

Anna shifted her leg and to her surprise, Elsa inhaled sharply at the sensation. It was then Elsa realized just how pressed together their bodies were, Anna's stomach and chest pressing deeper into her own with every breath she took. She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks, her face growing hot, her heart pounding against her chest.

A car honked in the distance, jarring Elsa from out of her trance.

_The con._

"Shit...Anna...hurry take the bag," Elsa finally breathed out.

Anna's eyes grew wide as realization washed over her. "Shit...sorry," Anna muttered, quickly getting up and brushing a few loose hairs behind her ear. She held out a hand for Elsa and gently pulled her up.

"Meet me at the car," Elsa said hurriedly as she handed Anna the bag.

"K," she said, taking it. She was avoiding eye contact.

"Quick, go," Elsa commanded, and Anna turned around and broke into a jog to return the bag to the woman.

Elsa watched her turn the corner. When she disappeared, Elsa suddenly felt weak and wobbly. Mustering up what energy she had left, she turned around and slowly jogged to her car.

...

They zoomed along the pacific coast highway, the sun now setting on the horizon, giving the atmosphere around them that famous Southern California orange glow. Anna had gotten twenty dollars from the con, and she'd used it to buy herself an ice cream cone before they left the area, and was now licking away at it in the passenger seat in silence.

A few licks later, Anna reached over and turned on the radio, turning through the channels. It landed on a catchy song, and content with the choice, Anna leaned back into her seat and continued to lick her ice cream, looking out through the window.

Elsa looked over her shoulder to change lanes, switching on the turn signal. As she smoothly transferred over, she gasped when she heard a thunderous ripple of sound, and a huge gust of air blew into her face and into the car. She whipped her head around to see Anna's finger on the sunroof button and a grin strewn across her face as she watched the window above them slide back and reveal the perfectly orange and red sky above them. After the sunroof slid all the way back, Anna reached over and turned the music up much louder, causing Elsa to grimace as she wrapped her hands tighter around the steering wheel.

"Anna!" Elsa shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the rumbling of the air soaring into the car and the pounding of the bass from the music. Elsa's eyes grew wide when she glanced over and saw her younger sister unbuckle her seatbelt, popping the last bit of her cone into her mouth as she did. The younger girl put up her feet onto the passenger seat and crouched on it. She slowly rose a bit, sticking her head out from the roof.

"Anna, get down!" But she couldn't hear her. Elsa pulled down at her shoulder, but to her dismay Anna slowly stood up, and eventually she was standing straight up on her seat, with most of her upper body sticking out of the car.

Now feeling a little panicked, Elsa tugged on Anna's pant leg harder, urging for her sister to come down and put her seatbelt back on. "Baby, please!" she yelled again, keeping her eyes on the road. Beach houses were whizzing by, storefronts, restaurants and people blurring past. The smell of the ocean filled the car, and it was so strong she could almost taste the sea salt in the air.

As they zoomed past the last stretch of beach houses, revealing a vast spread of sand and ocean, Elsa looked up at Anna and saw her slowly spreading her arms to her sides, as if she had wings or something. This was the straightest stretch of road on the highway, so looking back once more at the road ahead of her to ensure of their safety, Elsa looked up again and this time kept her gaze on the girl. Anna's hands were stretched out at her sides like she was flying, her eyes closed, her mouth stretched out in the widest grin she'd ever seen. Her hair was blowing back in the wind, her shirt rippling and lifting up around her waist, revealing some of her stomach. She looked absolutely stunning. She was taking Elsa's breath away. She had driven down this highway so many times, but today, with Anna beside her, everything felt different. Anna had a way of making even the most ordinary things...enthralling and fascinating.

Elsa snapped out of her reverie when Anna opened her eyes and glanced down at her. "Elsa! Join me!" Anna shouted down at her, the wind drowning out most of her voice.

"Are you nuts?! I'm driving!" Elsa yelled back, brushing away some flailing strands of hair from around her face. She looked out to the road again.

"Spread your arms like me! The road's straight!"

"Baby get down!"

Anna got back down into the car and Elsa was relieved, but the feeling didn't last long because Anna leaned over Elsa, blocking her view of the road. "Anna I can't see!" But Anna didn't reply. Elsa glanced down to see Anna pushing a button over on her door, and suddenly a strong gust of air burst through her side window into her face. Squinting her eyes from the wind and her hair blowing into her face, Elsa craned her neck over Anna's head to maintain her view of the road. After the window had been lowered all the way down, Anna pulled back and slid her own window down. The air was now blasting in all directions through the car, hair flying everywhere, music pounding throughout. Anna brought her mouth to Elsa's ear. "Elsa! Spread your arms out with me!" And with that, Anna planted her feet onto the passenger seat and stuck her body through the sunroof again. She spread her arms out and closed her eyes.

With the cool wind flying around her in all directions, Elsa had this sudden, crazy urge. She could almost feel the crisp, refreshing wind whipping against her hand and arm. The music was reverberating through her body and it was sweeping her up and away, away from the confines of this cold world. She looked up at Anna, who looked down at her at the same time. "Trust me!"

Elsa loosened her grip on the steering wheel, just slightly. It was as if the wind was washing away all her worries, leaving only visions of Anna in her head, and she felt light and free; she felt like she was soaring.

Still having a good stretch of straight road ahead of them, Elsa finally let go of the steering wheel, both of her hands steadying around it at first. She slowly and cautiously started to spread her arms to the sides, her right hand reaching out behind Anna's legs. The wind violently hit her left arm as she extended it outside the window, but she stabilized it, and soon both her arms were stretched out wide, like her sister above her. A small, shaky grin slowly started to spread across her face as the exhilaration and thrill of it all started to overwhelm her.

"Wooooo!" Anna bellowed, and Elsa couldn't hold back a laugh. "Elsa we're flying!" Anna yelled down to her, and they both laughed.

And they flew along, the wind and music drowning out all other sounds, everything just soaring through and renewing Elsa's soul.

...

"Good night."

"Night."

After clicking off the lamp, Elsa slid under the covers, but sleep was the last thing on her mind. Adjusting herself on her side, she heard Anna silencing her phone behind her. She peeked over her shoulder to see Anna turned the other way, playing her usual game on her phone. Settling her head into the pillow, Elsa almost wished Anna would take her showers in the morning; she couldn't handle the intoxicating smell of her fresh out of the shower. She took a deep breath, secretly inhaling the fragrant, dizzying scent. Anna sure was different; she used body wash made for men, insisting that body wash for women smelled too flowery and fruity. Elsa dared not reveal that sometimes, during her morning showers, she would snap open the lid of Anna's body wash and take a big whiff as she closed her eyes, smiling at the savory, spicy scent that was Anna.

Elsa had settled in, now very still underneath the sheets. A variety of emotions were stirring within, and none of them were making sense to her. But none of it mattered, for the she only wanted one thing right now, and the desire for it was almost unbearable.

_Cuddle me. _

She gripped the edge of her pillow with the tips of her fingers, wanting to feel Anna up against her again, more than anything. She wished Anna would put her phone down. Was it just a one time thing, last night?

Elsa gripped the edge of her pillow tighter when she heard the sound of rustling sheets behind her. The bed creaked, indicating Anna was leaning over to reach for the phone charger. Elsa stiffened when she heard the 'beep' of the phone connecting to its charger, and as usual Anna dropped her phone onto the carpeted floor where it landed with a small thud. Elsa swallowed and gripped the seams of her pillow tighter as she heard Anna wriggle under the sheets to get comfortable.

_Cuddle me. Cuddle me. _She repeated the words over and over in her head, as if she were trying to cast a spell to try to pull Anna over to her. The room grew silent, but Elsa's mind was whirring loud with the same thought, over and over. _Cuddle me, cuddle me, _as she stared hard into the bathroom, needing to focus on something, like she was concentrating hard to cast the spell. But Anna wasn't moving behind her, and she gnawed on her lower lip, wanting it so bad. _Cuddle me_ she kept thinking hopelessly, closing her eyes to imagine Anna's warm body up against her back, her arm wrapped possessively around her waist, those thighs up against her legs. _Hug me, cuddle me. _She bit her lip as she thought of Anna's breath slowly cascading down her cheek and neck. _ Cuddle me. _

And then finally, on the last _cuddle me, _Elsa stopped and froze as she heard Anna shift her body and turn over. She held her breath, waiting, but Anna didn't move. She waited a bit longer, her heart sinking with every passing second, and eventually, minute.

After a few solid minutes, when Elsa was just about to conclude that it had been a one-time thing, she heard more rustling behind her and she tensed. Her heart stopped when she felt the mattress sink in slightly behind her, and finally Elsa felt the warmth of her sister's body against her back; the feeling she'd been longing for all day.

Elsa's heart pounded as Anna's arm slid around her waist again; this time Anna gave her stomach two, light rubs with her thumb. Elsa almost grew lightheaded at the smell, Anna's smell, her intoxicating smell; Anna's essence was just swirling around her, and she couldn't move or breathe. Elsa let go of the edge of the pillow as she felt Anna's head settle in behind hers. And just like that she felt that rush, and everything felt right-there were no worries or doubts-at least for the night, when Elsa had Anna all to herself.

...

Just as Elsa was falling asleep, she felt Anna stirring behind her. Anna was fidgeting. Elsa finally shifted a bit, turning her head towards Anna. "Anna, are you ok-" but she didn't finish, because Anna leaned in and whispered in a hungry tone, "Elsa, I can't take it anymore," and she took her finger and turned Elsa's chin towards her face, and firmly planted her lips onto Elsa's. The older girl squirmed for a moment, eyes wide, staring at Anna's closed ones, her eyebrows furrowed in, concentrating. Elsa's body was rigid, frozen in place, and she could do nothing as Anna worked her lips deeper into her own. Anna pulled back and she exhaled out a shaky breath, but before Elsa could say anything Anna leaned in and kissed her again.

Elsa jolted upright in her bed, startling out of the semiconscious dream. Breathing heavily, she stared straight ahead, trying to gather herself up. She felt a light sweat on her brow. She looked down to see a heavily knocked out Anna beside her, arm still draped around Elsa's waist. She brought up her hands and buried her face in them; her hands were damp with sweat. Running her clammy fingers through her hair, Elsa tried to collect herself, taking deep breaths. As silently as she could, she slipped out from under Anna's arm and the sheets. Her knees buckled slightly as she stepped up onto the carpet.

As soon as the bathroom door closed with a light 'click' behind her, Elsa hurriedly turned on the faucet. She splashed the icy water onto her face a few times, trying to force herself awake, trying to bring herself as far away from the dream as possible. The cold felt good against her hot, flushed cheeks.

Water still running, she examined herself in the bathroom mirror, steadying herself with her hands against the sides of the sink. She studied the geometry of her facial structure, the angles of her chin, jaw, and nose. Usually this was reassuring to her, this exercise. But something didn't feel right. Her face dripping with water, eyes panicked, her hairs astray, and slight bags under her eyes.

For the first time, it all seemed off.

* * *

"...and then she, I mean, god you should've seen her. I think she's even better than Kristoff. She's just so good. _So _good Ryan. It's just so natural. And at _such _a young age too. She's so young. You know, it's like, maybe it's in the blood or something, I don't know. Oh, and did I tell you? She puts this sauce on everything she eats...what's it called...s...sir...sriracha. Yea, sriracha sauce, and it's her favorite thing. She puts it on pizza, she puts it on spaghetti, like, you'd think she'd get tired of it. But no, it's her favorite." Elsa stopped to chuckle. "Oh, and you know what else is funny? She insists on using this body wash that's for men, and she comes out of the shower smelling like..." Elsa ran a hand through her hair, pausing. "God, she smells like..."

Suddenly, Elsa felt it, the growing heat in her cheeks, the swelling emotions, and it made her stop in her tracks. It was then she realized she had been pacing back and forth in the psychiatrist's office, full of excited energy. She was standing now in the middle of his office, feeling oddly uncomfortable all of a sudden. She'd never been so animated in front of Ryan before. She looked down at him, and he was looking at her with a curious look, his lips curled into a knowing smile. Elsa cleared her throat and quickly sat herself down in the leather chair. "Sorry..." she muttered.

"No, this is good. You're finally talking to me," he said, uncrossing his legs and re-adjusting the pad of paper on his lap. He continued to look at her, studying her face, trying to read her eyes, to see beyond the words. She hated when he did this, but she supposed it wasn't as bad now, since she felt more comfortable around him. She just stared back at him when he did this.

"So..." he began, still watching her closely. "I'm curious Elsa. How do you feel about your sister doing these cons with you?"

She blinked at him, letting the words sink in around her. "Umm..." Elsa looked down to the ground, pondering the question. "Well.." she hesitated, bringing a finger to her chin, "...at first I didn't want to involve her with any of it," she said slowly, carefully. "I wanted her...er...I still want her to go to college, and have a career, and have a normal life."

She looked back at him, unsure. He nodded his head, encouraging for her to continue. "But..."

She sighed and looked down at the ground again. "But honestly, I don't want this life for her. I didn't want to expose her to all that." She stopped, suddenly overwhelmed with guilt and regret. "I...I didn't want to involve her," she looked up at him, remembering why she'd hesitated bringing her into all this in the first place. "But she wanted to. She really wanted to learn, and somehow it happened, and...and honestly..." she bit her lip, knowing what she was about to say was the guilty truth. "Honestly I'm having the time of my life right now, doing all this with her."

Ryan nodded, as if he was waiting for her to say this, and he scribbled something on his pad. "Guilt..." he said quietly. He finished writing and looked up at her. "You feel guilty."

She looked at him for a moment, letting the word sink in. And he was right. She felt it, right in the gut. She nodded, slowly, admittingly. He nodded back and looked down at his pad to think for a moment. "Elsa..." he began, bringing his hands into that v shape, "I need you to understand something very important." He looked at her, making sure she was paying attention. "It sounds like this was her decision. She _wanted _to do all this with you." He leaned forward, prompting the leather chair to squeak from the shifting. "This was her decision. Okay? Guilt is an extremely powerful emotion, and we don't need you carrying that around with all this other stuff you have."

Tight-lipped, Elsa nodded at him, but his words were meaningless to her, knowing all about this textbook tactic of displacing guilt from oneself in order to feel better about something. Because she knew, deep down, that ultimately she'd made the wrong choice, regardless of how much fun she and Anna were having together. And now the regret was seeping in, the realization of it all weighing down on her. She'd been distracted by the all the good times they've had to even realize it. Stupid. So stupid. She was supposed to be responsible. The older one. What if she stopped going to her classes to do these silly cons? What if she dropped her classes all together? What if something bad happened to Anna? What if she got caught?

Elsa suddenly wanted to change the subject, not wanting to give the topic any more thought. She sat for a while, rummaging through her mind. She had something she'd been meaning to ask..._what was it_..._I just had it...what was it..._

_Ah, right, that question. _

"Ryan, you said you had a younger sister right?"

He leaned back in his chair and nodded. "Yes, why?"

Elsa shifted in the leather chair, trying to get comfortable. "Have you ever...umm..." she brought up her fingers and fiddled with the tip of her braid. Looking away from him, she asked, "Have you ever cuddled with, your sister? She forced herself to at him now, "In bed? I-is that something siblings do?" She put on the most stoic, blank face she could, but inside, she felt her pulse quicken.

He looked at her, much longer than usual, and an uncomfortable chill ran through her body as he quietly answered. "No. That is not something siblings usually do."

The words crashed down over her, and Elsa closed her eyes and leaned forward and buried her face into her hands. It felt different, the reality of it being presented in front of her from another person. It was real. She stayed like that for a while, trying to fight the awful feeling that was churning in her gut. Her breaths were getting heavy, her mind whirring, and she was getting dizzy. She didn't know she'd react like this.

After a few more moments of silence, Ryan spoke. "Elsa, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not very well versed in inc-...relationships between siblings," Elsa winced as he said the string of words, "and we're out of time today too. So, allow me to do some research before our next session, and we'll talk about it then. Does that sound okay with you?"

Still leaned forward with her eyes closed, Elsa nodded her head.

"I already gave you your tablets for the week, right?" She nodded her head again.

"Okay. I'll see you next week then." He paused. "Elsa, are you going to be alright?"

She didn't reply.

* * *

The car ride back from the metro station was quiet today. Sometimes Elsa picked Anna up from the station on Fridays, and Anna would usually turn up the radio, excited for the weekend to come. But the air felt different between them, thick and heavy with some kind of tension. The low drone of the vehicle seemed louder than usual.

"How's school?" Elsa asked, breaking the silence. She kept her gaze on the road.

"Oh, it's good," Anna replied. "How's the office?" she asked automatically, a bit rushed.

"Nothing too exciting right now, so...yea." Elsa glanced over at Anna, and their eyes locked for a brief moment before Anna looked away into the window.

Elsa racked her brain for something to talk about. She approached a red stoplight and came to a stop. "Oh! Umm..." Elsa remembered the Halloween party, and now more energized because they had something to talk about, she drew a breath. "Kristoff is having a Halloween party next weekend. Wanna go? You'll finally get to meet him."

Anna turned to look at her, and Elsa was relieved when a small smile formed, melting some of the tension away. "I'll go if you go."

"Sure."

They smiled at each other, and Anna reached up to tuck a wisp of hair behind her ear. The way the afternoon sun was hitting her face, it seemed like her face was glowing. The red of her hair, her adorable little smile, and the small sprinkling of freckles acr-

_HONK~~_

They both jumped in their seats when the car behind them gave them a quick honk. Elsa whipped her head forward and saw that the light was green. She cursed under her breath and quickly shifted gears, and zoomed out into the intersection.

They'd finally reached Elsa's apartment building and parked in her designated parking spot in the underground parking lot. With Anna's backpack full of clothes hung loosely over her shoulder, both girls walked towards the elevator, the bright clicking of Elsa's heels and the low scuffling of Anna's boots echoing through the concrete space.

As they waited for the elevator, in the distance they heard a collection of voices ringing and reverberating through the parking structure. The voices grew louder and louder, hooting and hollering, and it was apparent that they were all young men's voices. Finally, the group turned the corner and Elsa's stomach dropped when she saw a large group of what looked like college guys slowly surrounding behind them to wait for the elevator. A bunch of them were half naked, some with red cups in their hands, a few wearing large banana costumes, and some with their faces and chests painted. They were laughing and bellowing loudly, and as the guys surrounded them around the elevator doors, the strong smell of alcohol filled Elsa's nose.

Elsa turned around and stood taller, concentrating on the elevator door in front of her. There was probably some kind of football game happening, but that was the least of Elsa's concerns right now. Soon she would be getting into the small space with all these men. She felt Anna looking over at her. "You said you didn't like being touched by strangers, right?" Anna asked in a concerned voice.

Elsa nodded her head, nervously eyeing the half-naked guy right next to Anna. The elevator dinged and the doors opened before them, prompting a sudden wave of anxiety. As they walked into the small space, Elsa felt Anna's hand on her back, leading her into the corner. The rest of the guys piled in, and Elsa felt the elevator shake underneath her feet. She watched in dread as the bodies kept inching nearer to her, and the smell of sweat and alcohol filled the confined elevator. They kept inching closer and closer, the stupid banana suits taking up much of the space until Elsa was pressed up against the back corner. Anna turned around so that her front was facing toward Elsa. She gripped the hand railing that was on both sides of Elsa and held onto them, creating a small space in-between them. She planted her feet onto the ground in front of her older sister. "Don't worry sis, I got you. You'll have room, I'll make sure of it," she said in a determined voice.

They kept piling in though, and soon enough Anna was struggling to keep her balance, both trying to maintain a space between her and her older sister and also trying to do her best to fight against being pushed back by the banana suit behind her. The last person finally loaded, and the elevator started making a loud, frantic beeping sound, indicating it was too full. "Woah woah wooooah," a guy drunkenly slurred. "Charles, it's 'kay, get back on, it's fine, just get on. It'll *_hick* _still go up. Come on get in here."

The elevator kept on beeping as Elsa felt the space around her getting tighter. The people in the small space were shifting and squeezing around her to let the last person on. The banana suit pressed harder into Anna's back and she lost her grip and she grunted as she fell forward into Elsa.

"He's on! Close it," somebody said, and the elevator doors closed slowly, and the beeping stopped. They finally started heading up. "See I told you," and he burped loudly.

"Shit...sorry" Anna muttered into Elsa's ear, her breathing labored. She gripped the metal bars on both sides of Elsa and regained her balance, planting her feet to the floor again. Her younger sister tried to push her back up against the banana suit to create a space for Elsa, but it was no use; the suit seemed to squeeze up against her back even more, and Anna was shoved forward into Elsa once again. Elsa bit her lip and gripped the railings beside her, trying to ignore the rising and surging feelings from Anna being pressed up against her body.

"Shit," Anna muttered again, but this time, she remained there, the struggling ceasing for a moment. She could feel Anna's hot cheek brushing up against hers, Anna's breath on her neck, her chest rising and falling up against her body, pressing into her own.

Then, Elsa heard Anna starting to grunt as she tried to fight the banana suit behind her once more. Anna's head still very close to her neck and ear, she heard every heavy breath, every grunt, and it was too much. Anna's leg kept pushing into _there_, making her mind go blank. It was too much. She was being turned on.

"A-anna...s-stop..."

"I know I'm sorry I'm trying. There's just too many people."

"N-no...s-stop...grunting." Right as the words were murmured out of her mouth, the banana suit pushed back hard and Anna lost her footing, making her fall again into Elsa's body. The two sisters were now squished together with no room for struggling. Anna was breathing heavily into her ear, and suddenly her leg slipped further in-between Elsa's legs, and before she could stifle it, a low moan escaped from Elsa's throat right into Anna's ear.

Anna drew her head back from Elsa's neck, startled at the sound she had just heard. Biting her lip and mentally cursing at herself, Elsa turned her head to the side, looking down and away from Anna; she couldn't look at her. She knew her face was bright red, her cheeks flushed. She felt Anna's gaze on her, and Elsa could do nothing but continue to look away to the side, embarrassed and ashamed.

After a moment, Anna slowly brought her head back to Elsa's neck, her cheek softly brushing her skin as she did. And then, so lightly that Elsa almost didn't feel it, Anna's lips brushed up against her neck, sending a shudder down the older girl's body. She felt the tension in Anna's body being released as she gave up the fight against the banana suit, her body slumping into Elsa's. She let go of the handlebars besides her and slowly reached around, where she slid her hands against the small of Elsa's back.

Just then, the elevator dinged, and somebody yelled out "We're here," and the guys started spilling out, making more and more room around the two girls. The guy in the banana suit finally stepped forward, and Anna staggered backwards, but Elsa caught her arms as they slipped out from behind her.

"Thanks," Anna murmured as the elevator door shut behind her. They stood for a moment, looking at each other, Elsa still holding onto her.

The elevator wasn't moving. "Oh, shoot," Anna said, turning around, and Elsa let go of her. "We didn't press our level yet," Anna said pushing a button for their level, and the elevator jolted upward and started to ascend.

Anna maintained her spot by the button panel while Elsa stayed in the corner as the elevator approached their floor. They waited in silence, both watching the rising number above the elevator door increase at a painfully slow and glacial pace.

...

Elsa took her usual place at the back of April's line, her basket full of tonight's ingredients. Anna had said she wasn't feeling well, and said she wanted to stay home and nap, so Elsa went out by herself to shop for groceries tonight.

When April saw that Elsa was next, her face lit up and she shot her that special grin. "That'll be $45.63," April said, returning her attention to the customer. While the customer was pulling out her credit card, April looked back at Elsa, and feeling timid, Elsa looked down at her wallet, checking to see that she had enough cash, which she knew she did.

It was finally her turn, and April started to glide Elsa's ingredients across the scanner. "So where's your friend?" April asked after she'd scanned a few items.

"She's my sister," Elsa replied, almost a little too firmly.

"Ah, I see," and maybe it was just her imagination, but Elsa thought she saw April's smile grow a just a tad wider. She was wearing her usual tie and button-up white collared shirt, her keys jangling brightly against her black jeans.

April continued scanning while Elsa looked around at nothing in particular. She scanned the last item and turned her head towards the monitor. "That'll be $26.48."

Elsa give her a couple bills, but this time she boldly handed them directly to her instead of placing them on the small counter like she usually did. Surprised by the change of behavior, April looked up at her, her eyebrows lifting a bit. "Thank you," she said softly, carefully taking the bills from her hand.

She turned around to get Elsa's change as the bagger bagged her groceries. "Here you are," April said turning around with her change. But she didn't place the change on the counter like she usually did. With a cautious but hopeful look on her face, April held up the change midair in her hands, waiting. Hesitating only for a moment, Elsa slowly brought her hand up under hers, and April beamed, carefully placing the bills on Elsa's palm and the coins over them. Elsa quickly dropped the change into her front pouch and slipped the bills into her wallet. "Thanks," she said quietly as she gathered up her groceries.

"You're welcome. Have a good weekend, Elsa."

Elsa gave her a small, grateful smile, and turned around. She took a few steps, but she stopped in her tracks. Something was pulling at her. Something was telling her to turn around. Something was telling her to turn around, and that this was the absolute right thing to do.

So, Elsa turned around. April was already scanning the next customer's groceries, but her eyes drew up to Elsa as she marched up to her and asked, "Your name is April, right?"

April stopped scanning and looked at her, surprised. "Y-yea," she replied. Elsa slipped the grocery bags around her wrist and raised up her arm, which was weighed down heavily by the bags of groceries. "Nice to meet you," she said, holding out her hand for a handshake.

April just looked at her for a moment, but then quickly wiped her hand against her waist apron and placed her hand into Elsa's, shaking it gently.

"Nice to meet you," she repeated, grinning.


End file.
